The Xavier Institute
by Taliym5
Summary: Trinity Leonardo and her brother and sisters have lived in a world of fear and distrust when humanity learned of mutants. The children then discover that they too are mutants. They are then sent to the safest place for mutant children: The Xavier Institute. There they learn of their abilities, build bonds, and become x-men. This is a new take of the brilliant comic classic.
1. Prologue

**Hello, This is a author's note to explain this story. First off, this is a new approach to x-men; I'm starting from scratch to introduce the x men through new characters, ocs I've created, since I love the comics so much. This all started out as stories I told to my little brother and grew into a dream we both had to make these stories come to life. We've put our imagination and heart into these stories and now they'll finally come out of the dark and be introduced to the public. **

**This is the prologue of how everything begins; don't worry everything will be explained in the next chapter. This prologue is sad, but it is a foundation of the Leonardo's journey. I only own the Leonardos, Sophie, and other oc.s I'll tell you about. I do not own Marvel or the x-men. R&R and I hope you like it. :)**

* * *

Trinity smelt smoke; thick terrible smoke that burnt her eyes and choked her. She sat up from her sleeping bag as she felt the heat and heard the crackling fire. Trinity called for Sophie fearfully as she saw fire creeping though the little apartment. Sophie was there; horror-filled cat's-eyes watering from the smoke. Sophie's mutant cat-ears perked down as she helped her up and they raced toward a window. Trinity shriek as something stabbed into her foot and saw it was glass and near it was a brick and bottle remains that had scraps of cloth that were on fire. The brick had _Die Mutie_ carved into it. Trinity saw it came through one of the windows, but Sophie pulled her along as they raced away from the fire. Sophie let go of her hand and opened a window in front of them that lead to a fire escape. Sophie crawled out and was about to motion Trinity to follow, but a chunk of the ceiling fell in front of the window; fiery debris blocking the exit. Trinity screamed as the flames crept closer to her; her flesh burning from the heat as she tried to cough the smoke from her lungs. She didn't want to burn! She saw a window, and before she could stop herself she ran and crashed through it. She fell from the building and hit the ground: hard.

Pain…so much pain that it made her exhausted just to feel it…Sirens and movement…her best friend Sophie's face surrounded with strange, flowing colors…was next to her…telling her to stay awake and hold onto her… Sophie's cat-ear's perked down as she looked over at something with her tangerine eyes…Sophie was special…she was a mutant…Trinity's mother was a mutant, her aunt, and uncle…She was now on a stretcher being rushed through a lobby…too many people talking…So many colors swirling…She was in the hospital…a white room…Sophie was next to her on her own stretcher and crying…she brushed her orange hair behind her catish ear and limped over to Trinity…Trinity looked up at her friend…why was she so sad?

Sophie gripped her hand tightly, yet gently. "Trin, you're not going to die, I'll save you. You're meant for great things…" Trinity felt a strange tingling sensation that rushed through her body as she felt herself becoming stronger…the pain disappearing and then Sophie fell to the floor. Trinity felt cold dread fill her as she leapt off the hospital bed; knocking the IV over and pulling chords off her body. She kneeled over Sophie and cried. "No! No Sophie! You didn't!" She knew Sophie did…Sophie had the mutant ability to switch two people's probabilities…and she switched Trinity's destiny of dying so she would die instead and Trinity would live. Trinity held her friend's hand and begged. "Switch back! You can't die Sophie! Please don't die!"

She was wailing as Sophie gave her a wretchedly pained smile. "I don't have a family to mourn me…you do…you were my only family…so I had to…" Sophie closed her eyes as her head fell to its side. Trinity saw a strange color shift away from Sophie and she knew she was gone…

"Sophie! God no!" Trinity sobbed. "Sophie!" People started to pull her away from her friend. "No!" Trinity thrashed at them and screamed as more colors raced around her vision. "Let me go!" People bend over Sophie and stared at her. "Do something!" Trinity cried, but they simply checked the girls pulse and shook their heads. "Help her! Sophie!"

A month later, in a cemetery close to the New Jersey and New York border, Sophie's funeral was held. Trinity had let her mass of black bangs and curls hang over her face to hide herself from her concerned siblings, parents, and others…Sophie's family wasn't there; they disowned her ever since they realized she was a mutant. Trinity walked up to the casket and placed the yellow roses next to Sophie…who lay in the casket peacefully, like she was asleep. Trinity stared at her friend and felt her heart lurch painfully. They were like sisters…now she was dead because of her…

Trinity walked away from the casket and reminisced:

_My name is Trinitia Leonardo, I've been seeing strange colors around people ever since the fire. My best friend was a mutant, I never cared, but others did so they tried to kill her. They managed to get me to jump three stories out a window by setting the apartment on fire. I was at the apartment for a sleepover to celebrate my 16__th__ birthday. No one really tried to save Sophie or investigate her murder because she was a mutant. She was 19 when she used her powers to save me and died my death. She is gone. I am Trinity and I killed my best friend._


	2. Chapter 1: The Leonardos

Trinity woke up from the tedious ring of an alarm clock and covered her head with blankets to block out the sound. She finally got up and pulled on jeans, a shirt, and a baggy grey jacket. She walked downstairs to see her family eating breakfast quietly. Her mom had her curly brown hair in a bun as her green eyes watched the news channel darkly. Meg Lafayette Leonardo was a nurse, but she was also a mutant with the power to heal any physical injuries with her hands that created a green energy the same color as her eyes. She had used her gifts to help people in her hospital incognito; a secret hero and mother to four.

Trinity looked a lot like her, except for the eyes; she had her dad's plum-brown eyes. Her dad was…actually they never tell her. All she knew was her dad worked for the government and left home for months with only distant phone calls to reassure them he would be home soon. Dominic, her 13 year old brother, was done with breakfast and disassembling his watch like it was an important science project. He was a good mix of her mom and dad; he had green-brown eyes, dark skin like them, and dark brown hair. He was a genius and tough man of the household; he had to be with their dad always gone. Allie, Alicia, was ten and was inhaling her cereal. She had her mom's eyes, but had the black Italian curls of their dad. She was an athletic ball of energy and aggression; a prodigy martial artist and ballerina. Cara, only four, was drawing one of her many pictures in her dream book. Cara also had dark brown hair, but her eyes were a deep blue like their Uncle Leon's. Mom explained that it was probably a recessive trait from her, since her eyes were green due to the mutant gene and not inherited.

Cara was quiet, but sweet. She was having some trouble in school because teachers and kids just didn't understand her like her family did. Actually all the Leonardo's were having trouble with school. Dom has been bullied by other kids and would come home with dirty and torn clothes, but not a bruise on him. Allie was getting in trouble for fighting and arguing with fellow students. And Trinity was just done with school; especially with the anti-mutant discussions everyone was having.

Trinity heard the news was talking about mutant trouble in New York with a terrorist group called the Brotherhood and a strange vigilante group called the X-men. Before she could hear anymore, her mother shut the TV off. She looks at her daughter and smiles. "Hey mija, how are you?"

Trinity shrugs. "I'm fine Mami." That was the answer she had to give, so her mom wouldn't worry.

Meg bites her lip and nods while giving Trinity a bagel. "Excited? It's you last week of school."

Trinity nods as she bit into the bagel.

"Going to any parties?" She inquired hopefully. She knew Trinity loved going out with her friends and to parties, but now the girl would rather stay at home.

"No Mami," She tells her. Their brindle mastiff, Fury, walked into the kitchen and placed her massive head on her lap as Trinity patted her head. They named her Fury after their Dad's friend; their 'Uncle' Nick Fury.

My mom looks down and her pager beeps. She looks at it and sighs. "I better drop you kids off, work needs me."

The kids jump out of their chairs and grab their backpacks. Dom peers at his sister questionably, but lets whatever he was going to say go. Allie gives Trinity a smile, probably trying to cheer her up, but Trinity could only manage a small, rather pathetic grin. Cara grabs her oldest sister's hand and Trinity squeezes it happily as she helped her mom load the children into the van.

A minute later a rusty Oldsmobile pulls into their driveway. Allison Blair, one of Trinity's closest friends, was waving to her to get in.

Trinity looks at her mom who grinned. "Go ahead."

Trinity shouldered her bag and gets into Allison's car. Allison grins at Trinity while putting her mass of blond hair and blue highlights into a ponytail. "Hey Trin, you mind if I drive you today?" The rain started to pelt the car.

"Never Daz." Trinity replied while putting on her seatbelt. Trinity's nickname for her friend has always been Dazzler, Daz, because of Allison's flashy persona in her local band. Allison played piano/keyboards and would even bring in an electric violin into her songs as she sung lead.

Allison screeched out of the driveway while telling her silent friend about some new songs she was writing with her band. "Lila Cheney and I created this frickin' amazing song; we're gonna call it _Executioner's Song_ and—" Allison notices that Trinity was staring out the window. "And you don't give a shit?" She finished, but she didn't sound mad or annoyed; just sympathetic.

"Sorry," Trinity mumbled, making sure to look at her friend.

"Don't worry about it," Allison tells her as they pulled into their high school. "But, we're all really worried about you Trin. I mean, the only time we see you out of your house is when you go to school, but you never talk to anyone and when people talk about mutants you look like you want to beat the crap out of someone."

"Considering that my friend was killed because she was one…" She muttered in annoyance; wishing Allison would just drop it.

Allison looks down. "Trin…Sophie wouldn't want you to be like this. She'd want to be having a good time. What about Jamie?"

Trinity tenses uncomfortably as Allison continues. "You remember Jamie Madrox? Colette's cousin, our tightest friend since middle school, your boyfriend—"

"Ex-boyfriend." Trinity tells her.

"Why did you break up with him?" Allison asked her.

Trinity glowers at her. "I'm just done with parties, shopping, acting in theatre, and being in a relationship. I never wanted to hurt Jamie, but I honestly don't need someone to make out with or buy me dinner." She gets out of the car as Allsion follows her.

"Ok." Allison says; dropping the subject, while holding Trinity's arm in a casual form of an apology. Trinity holds onto her gratefully; wondering if she should apologize but deciding not to risk reopening the conversation back up.

They suddenly see Colette race over to them. Her Haitian accent rings out. "Allison! Trin! Have you two seen Jamie?" Her brown eyes implored them for an answer as she girls shook their heads in confusion.

"Why?" Trinity asked nervously.

Colette and her parents were from Haiti, but they came to the U.S. about a few years ago when Colette's mother's sister and her husband were killed in a storm in Louisiana; leaving their only son Jamie Madrox and the ruins of a pepper plantation behind. Colette's parents adopted Jamie and moved to New Jersey for a new start. Trinity and Allison became great friends with Colette and Jamie, but sometimes Jamie would run off for days on end.

Allsion says. "He's probably skipping school again."

"He's been gone for a week." Colette answered nervously. "My parents are worried sick 'bout him."

Trinity felt sick and anxious as well. _Jamie, where are you?_

Soon, first period bell rings and the girls run to class. Trinity sat down in a desk as a class seminar began on current events. The class had to move their desks into a circle and talk about an important event in the U.S., and then have discussions/arguments about it. To Trinity's frustration that were talking about mutants. One kid, who Trinity couldn't stand, was expressing his views on the mutant race:

"Mutants do not serve the community in any way. As you all seen in the news about the Brotherhood; all they do is cause harm. That's why I think they should be terminated for the safety of our community."

"Wait, are you saying they should be murdered!?" A student exclaimed as Trinity tensed.

"Murdered. That word implies that these mutants have human rights, but they aren't human and do not apply for these rights." The boy answered smugly.

Trinity glared at the boy and clenched her hands in silent rage and disgust.

"I don't really agree," One girl answers. "But mutants should be contained so we can be safe from them."

Several students agree as the boy continues. "The Brotherhood of Mutants are terrorists and represent the danger mutants have for us. If we don't stop mutants now they will be too powerful to take down—"

"What if you were a mutant!" Trinity suddenly spoke up.

Everyone, even the teacher, who was ignoring the seminar to eat breakfast at her desk, looked at her.

The boy sniffed. "Well, if I was a danger to our society I would want someone to exterminate me—"

"That's a damn lie." Trinity interrupted angrily. "You're nothing but hypocritical ass—"

"Trinity Leonardo!" the teacher snaps. "Watch your language."

Trinity stood up and walked up to the boy's desk and growled. "The Brotherhood does not represent mutant kind. Just because one group does something—it doesn't mean the entire race is corrupt! Mutants aren't just powerful adults!" Trinity suddenly thought about her cousins. "Some are just innocent kids! Who made you God? To think they should be murdered!" Trinity finished her argument and waited for the boy to say something.

The boy looks away from her and scoffs. "Well, I would expect you to argue for mutants. Seeing that your friend was a freak."

Trinity felt blood thunder in her ears as he continued.

"She was a danger to the community and sorry if you liked her, but why do you think no one tried to convict the people who burned up her apartment? Because they knew what those guys did was right—"

Trinity slapped the guy as hard as she could. The boy stood up and glared at her incredulously and the teacher was about to say something when Trinity tackled him to the ground. "Take that back!" She screamed.

"No! Those freaks belong in a prison—OW you bitch!" Trinity slammed her fist into his ear as he shoved her off and kicked her face. Trinity saw white pinpoints of light, but they were turning into colors…wait the colors were around the people again. Trinity touched her face and felt that her lip was bleeding. The teacher was shouting and the boy was yelling back. When Trinity opened her eyes everyone was silent. Some people jumped out of their desks as she stood. They were all staring at her in shock. Trinity felt scared as the teacher pushed the emergency button on the school phone. The boy cursed. "You're-you're one of them!"

Trinity turned to the windows; where she would see her reflection and she saw her eyes…her eyes were pitch-black! There were no brown irises or whites…just black. Trinity shrieked as she held her face. She felt scared for some reason. She needed to get out. She ran out of her classroom and into the hall. Students were walking in the hallway and waiting outside the classroom for 2nd period. When they saw her they paled and exclaimed at her eyes. There were even more colors swirling around the students and she felt sick anxiety. Trinity ran through the crowd as she heard:

"What the hell!"

"What happened to her!"

"She's a mutie!"

"God look out she's getting closer!"

Colette was suddenly there and grabbed her arm. "Trin! What?" She looked scared, but she was worried about her friend.

Trinity wrenched out of her grip when she heard Allison's voice: "Trinity! Wait!"

Trinity burst through the doors and ran. She ran toward the little forest next to her school and didn't care that it was still raining. She ran deep into the woods until she tripped on a tree root and fell. Trinity covered her head and stayed on the ground. _Not me, not me too. _She thought as she passed out.

* * *

Dominic was at the museum for the class trip and waited to hear from a doctor about mutant genetics, which was a part of the modern science exhibit. The presenter's name was Moira MacTaggart and Dom wondered if it was the same MacTaggart that his mom talked about a lot. He felt someone throw some paper at him, but ignored the snickering of his classmates. "Nerd." He heard them whispered as he waited to hear the presentation. Dom was sick of the class picking on him for being smarter than they were. He suddenly stopped thinking about it when a beautiful woman with short auburn hair walked in and stood at the podium. She greets them with her Scottish dialect.

"Good mornin', my name is Dr. Moira MacTaggart. I am a genetic expert and I am here to tell you all about homo sapiens mutation: the x-gene."

Some of the kids grumbled. "Great we're learning about the freak-gene."

Dom whispered to them. "Hey, shut up." And turned his attention back to the doctor.

"The x-gene is a mutation that is evolving human into a stronger race. Evolution is increasing at faster rate than anyone has ever seen. The x-gene enables a person with special powers of both a physical and mental nature. For example, the x-gene can enable telepaths and telekinetics to use more than the usual 10% of their brains to read minds, move objects, and perform many other fascinating feats. The x-gene can also change a person's anatomy, like with one of my patients; they developed wings on their back. Any person can have the mutant gene and it doesn't truly activate until puberty, but in some rare cases I've found people who had activated mutations ever since they were born. Yes young man, do you have a question?" The doctor acknowledges Dom's raised hand.

"Is the x-gene hereditary?" Dom asked; thinking about his Uncle Leon and mom.

"Yes, my studies have discovered that parents can pass the x-gene to their offspring or that siblings have the x-gene while the parents did not or that they were simply x-gene carriers."

Soon Moira finished her presentation, most of the students rush off to get lunch, but the boy who asked a question stayed behind. He looked familiar to Moira, but she smiled and inquired. "Hello, do you still have some questions?"

"Yes ma'am." The boy replied. "You said that mutations can be carried by parents, but aren't activated?"

Moira nods. "That's correct."

"Would there be something other than puberty that triggers the x-gene to activate?" The boy asked curiously.

Moira raised an eyebrow; this boy was smart. "Why yes, I've interviewed some mutants whose powers first activated in intense events of stress."

The boy listens and nods. "Thanks doctor,"

Before he could leave Moira asked. "Excuse me young man, what's your name?"

"Dominic Leonardo."

Moira's eyes widen. "Your mother, is she Meg Lafayette?"

"Yes," Dominic answered cautiously at the woman's excitement.

"Oh! I've taught Meg when she was in school! Her brother and sister too!" Moira exclaimed excitedly.

"Really?" Dom asked. "You taught at the institute?"

"Yes," Moira was about to talk about the good old days, but she held her tongue. "Oh, has your mother told you about it?"

"Not really, but my uncle Leon and uncle Hank talk about it and told us some stories about it, but I think they were just pulling my leg about some stuff." Dom shrugged as he remembered them telling his sisters and him about danger rooms and crazy adventures.

Moira smiles. "Uncle Hank?"

"Yeah, he's Leon's and my mom's best friend from school."

"Yes I remember Hank; such a bright and athletic student—"

"Dominic!" The teacher called. "It's time to go!"

Dom smiles at Moira. "Nice meeting you doctor." He hurries after his class.

As soon as he walked outside, someone shoved him. Dom stumbled and turned around with fists raised. He was met by several boys from his class laughing at him:

"Wow, the boy thinks he can fight!"

"The only fighting he's been in is _Call of Duty_."

"So Dom, why did you hang back? Excited that a girl would actually talk to you?"

Dom scowled at them, but said nothing as he tried to walk away, only to be blocked by more guys. "Where you going Leonardo?"

"Probably going home to bitch to his mommy!" Someone snickered.

Dom clenched his jaw.

"Naw man, he usually runs to grandparents' restaurant; his house is too far for his fat-but."

"That dumb Italian place?" A boy asked.

"Yeah, wait does your dad work there Leonardo? Is he the janitor?" One kid with braces teased.

"Dude, his dad don't got a job. He's a bum."

"No he's not." Dominic snarled.

One kid gives him another push. "Oh yeah? What does he do?"

"He works for the government!" Dominic answered heatedly.

"Ooh, so he's a stooge?" Someone else asked.

"Shut up!" Dominic barked as one kid, who had the muscles of a 15 year old, grabbed his bag and wrenched him toward him.

"You know we all can beat the crap out of you." He tells him.

"Go ahead, I know that you're too scared to fight me one-on-one." Dominic snapped.

The boy throws him away from him as the other kids "ooohed".

"Hey guys, let's see how fast this nerd can run—"

Dom didn't waste any time sprinting away as the boys chased him. He knew they would thrash him as soon as they caught and he didn't want to relive the humiliation or pain. Dominic pushed passed the people on the sidewalk. He saw the cross walk on the street was clear and ran. As soon as he was in the street, the cross walk was flooded with cars. Dom felt fear pump his blood as he tried to dodge some cars that were slamming their brakes to avoid him. Dom sprinted toward the sidewalk on the other side—only to have a truck run him down. The truck stopped as pedestrians and drivers screamed: "Someone call 911!" The boys see what happen and run away; fearful that they had just killed someone.

Dom jumped up from behind the truck; his backpack and clothes were totaled, but when the truck hit him; he didn't feel any pain. He looked at his arms and body to see he wasn't bleeding. He runs away from the street and into an alley. When he was a block away he checked his arms and legs; nothing, no bruises, broken bones, or cuts. He survived being hit—no, being run-over by a truck. He was miraculously alright. Dom suddenly remembered Moira's presentation and froze. _Am I a…?_ Dom didn't want to think about it as he ran to his grandparent's house/restaurant.

* * *

Allie was at recess playing a game of kick ball with her friends. When she grew bored she tried to look for more games to play. She stopped when she saw some kids playing tag. She walks over to see if she could join, but stopped when she heard:

"So the bad guys are mutants and the heroes are the avengers."

Allie knew she should walk away; let them play their stupid game, but she spoke up. "Why are the mutants bad guys?"

One girl looks at her like she asked her why the sky was blue. "Uh, because they are."

"No they're not." Allie snapped; annoyed.

"Yeah they are." Another kid answered.

"Says who?" Allie asked.

"My daddy says they're menaces." A girl in a dress replied.

"You're daddy's wrong." Allie told her.

"No he's not!"

"Yeah he is!" Allie shouted louder than her; making the girl back down.

"What do you know Allie!" A boy snapped.

"That mutants aren't bad guys." Allie answered; crossing her arms.

"You're a mutie-lover!"

Allie never heard of the word, but the way the kids said made her angry. "What?"

"You love mutants—I bet you are one!" a girl says.

"So what if I am?" Allie sneered.

"Then you're a criminal!" the boy answered.

"Shut up Geekson." Allie snipped.

"My name's Greekson, freak." The boy answered.

Allie bit her lip. "Don't call me that."

"Freak!" the girl who shouted at her smiled.

"Freak. Freak. Freak!" The group of girls and boys teased.

Allie glared at them and tried to unclench her hands; the principal said if she got into another fight she'd be expelled.

Allie turned around to walk away and play with her friends who were watching her nervously. As she took a step. A girl teased. "You're a bigger freak than your nerdy brother!" Allie stopped as her face flushed. She saw mud on the ground from the rain this morning and scooped up some. She turned toward the girl and flung the mud into her face. "Who's the freak now?"

The girl shrieked as some kids at the playground laughed. "Allie! You're so gro-oss."

"Maybe you can ask your daddy how to clean it off." Allie replied, but the girl growled:

"You're just jealous my daddy loves me more than your daddy loves you!"

Allie felt tears prick her eyes as she wiped her hands onto the girl's dress; making the girl scream and slap her.

The girls were in the mud tackling each other; Allie had the upper hand. A boy who tried to pull Allie's hair to help the girl received a bloody nose and he ran for the teacher who grabbed Allie roughly and yelled at her. Allie was so mad that she remained silent as she was taken to the principal's office. When they walked inside the school, the teacher scolded:

"I can't believe you did that to poor Karen! I am very disappointed in you—"

"She started it!" Allie yelled back.

"You're always causing trouble; just because your father isn't home…" Allie ignored her as she sat in the office chair and tried not to cry.

* * *

Cara was sitting in the office waiting for her mama. Her preschool teachers saw some of the pictures in her dream book and looked worried and sent her to the principal's office. Cara was scared; she didn't do anything wrong. Soon the principal and her mama walked in. Cara smiled at her mama, but stopped when she saw the principal's nervous face.

Cara stayed in the chair as her mama and principal Trunchell sat down. Mrs. Trunchell began. "Mrs. Leonardo, your daughter has been having trouble paying attention in school."

Mama nodded in understanding.

"Also, some of the teachers are concerned about the crafts and drawings she does…as you know we are a Christian-based institution." The principal opened Cara's dream book to a picture of a man with silver claws, the blue-fuzzy elf with a tail, and a pretty woman with white eyes. Cara thought her pictures were good, but the principal didn't think so. "We are worried about some of these illustrations."

"They're only drawings." Her mama answered.

"It's not just the drawings, she adds stories to them like these pictures are actual people—"

"They are." Cara piped up.

The principal shook her head and showed her a picture of a man on fire. "Cara, what is this?"

"A picture I drew." Cara tells her.

"Why is the man on fire?"

"That's his power." Cara answered.

"No, Cara, fire hurts people."

"It doesn't hurt Shiro."

"Who's Shiro?"

"Someone I'm going to meet; I saw him in a dream." Cara replied cheerfully. The principal peers at her mama who looked tired.

"Also," Mrs. Tranchell continued. "We had the children make their own stuff animals and this is what Cara created." She shows Meg a blue stuff animal in a red and black outfit…the doll had gold ovals for eyes, pointed ears, and a tail. "The teachers were not happy she created a demon—"

"But he is a mutant not a demon!" Cara cried. "His name is Bamf!" The adults made a face of shock, until Cara explains. "That's the sound he makes when he teleports: bamf! Bamf! BAMF!"

The principal sighs. "Cara I'm afraid you can't bring this sort of stuff to school; it offends the other students and teachers—"

"They're offended by mutants?" Meg asked.

Mrs. Trunchell nods. "Well, mutants are a controversial topic—"

"So you're telling me if a mutant child wanted to go here you would refuse them because they offend people?" Meg inquired portentously.

Mrs. Trunchell replies after a moment. "It's a touchy subject."

Meg's phone starts to ring and she sighs. "I'm afraid I don't have time for this Mrs. Trunchell, so I'll be taking Cara out of this school since it can't handle her imagination." Before the principal could stop her Meg scoops up Cara and grabbed the doll and book while marching outside. Once she made to her car she answers her phone. "Hello?"

Meg listened in dread as Trinity's high school told her that her daughter had assaulted a student, disrupted the school, and that she was now expelled due to being a…mutant. Meg puts Cara down so she could tell the school what she thought about all of this; not caring if she was cussing them out. She was infuriated that they said they didn't know where her daughter was and she hung up on them only to have Allie's school call her. Meg listened and groaned when she heard Allie had gotten herself into another fight, but had to answer a incoming call from her husband's, Salvatore's, father. He told that Dominic was at their house and his clothes were in tatters. Meg asked her father-in-law if he could watch Cara and pick up Allie from school, so she could go get Trinity. She grabbed Cara and put her in her car seat as she tried to think where Trinity could be. "Is Trini in trouble?" Cara asked.

Meg kissed her baby's forehead. "I just need to pick her up." She tried to mask her worry from her child as she jumped into the driver's seat and pealed out of the parking lot.

* * *

**Yays! First chapter! This is basically introducing the Leonardo family and showing the type of issues they face. Yes, I know I'm keeping you all in the dark about Trin and Dom's powers, but you'll learn about them in the next chapter. I added some well-known character cameos for fun, and yeah Leon and Meg went to the Xavier Institute as well. Like I said; this is a new version of the x men and Marvel universe; a alternate deminsion if you will. **

**Author's brother walks in. "Yeah, in other words you'll hate her for drastically changing the characters you know and love!"**

**Author jumps up. "No! You are not commenting on this as well!"**

**"Of course I am; I'm the co-creator. Readers you'll be seeing a lot-"**

**"I apologize in advance."**

**"You should-seeing that we haven't seen any freakin' x-men!"**

**"You will. Trust me, you will! I don't own Marvel or X-Men, though I wish I did."**

**"She only owns Leon, the Leonardo's, and other oc's."**

**R&R please and thank you.**


	3. Chapter 2: Stuck at home

Trinity woke up in the back of her mother's car. She noticed that she was wrapped in a towel. She looks up at her mother who was holding the steering wheel tightly. Trinity looks over to see Cara watching her. "Mama! Trini's awake!"

Their mother peers at her from the rearview mirror. "How are you feeling mija?"

Trinity stared at the back of mother's head. "I'm cold." She finally said; a bit frustrated that she even had to explain the feelings of shock that she was going through. She realized her mother knew what happened today; why else would she be so quiet? She wondered how her mom was able to find her in the forest. "Mami—how did you find me?"

Her mother remains silent and finally answers. "Someone found you and called me."

Trinity noticed her mother was nervous. "Who?"

"We'll be at your grandparents' house in a few minutes." Her mother tells her; completely ignoring her question.

Trinity glowered at her, but remained silent.

Trinity was practically attacked by her Nana, who was fussing over her and wrapping dozens of quilts around her. Trinity saw Allie and Dom were there and gave them a muddled look. Her brother and sister simply gave her 'we'll tell you about it later' look as an answer.

Later, Trinity was sitting on the couch with the dozens of quilts; waiting for her mom. She could hear the rest of her family in the kitchen as the delicious smell of chicken primavera wafted through the house/restaurant. The upper levels were the house, while the second floor was a small restaurant her Dad and his family ran years ago; now her grandparents and distant cousins ran the Italian restaurant. Finally, her mother walked into the family room and closed the door. Trinity squirmed uncomfortably as her mom was biting her lip and staring out the window.

Meg finally spoke. "Your school told me what happened today…"

Trinity looked down at her muddy shoes and nodded. "Did they tell you that I'm a mutant?"

"Yes." Meg knelt in front of her daughter and took her hand. "Trinity, I know this is a difficult and scary transition for you—"

"No you don't." Trinity muttered, even though her mother never told her how she discovered her powers; she knew that it probably wasn't anything like her own experience.

"I do. I went through the same thing."

"This is different." Trinity shook her head. "Your powers do amazing things Mami—me, I don't even know what I have! All I know is that my eyes…God, I couldn't believe it happened. I thought I was going crazy!"

"I know it's a lot to take in—"

"A lot? Mami, all the kids were scared of me…and I was scared too." Trinity stared at her mother desperately. "They know…how can I go back there? They're are talking about how mutants should be killed—" Trinity squeezed her eyes shut. "Mami…what's so great about being a mutant if people want you dead?"

Meg hugged her daughter. "Shh, not everyone thinks like that…you're safe with me."

"And what if I end up like Sophie? What if people try to burn down our house because of me…" Trinity was holding onto her mother as she tried not to cry.

Meg held her tighter. "That will never happen Trinitia; I will never let anyone hurt you or our family. We are in this together. Okay?"

Trinity wanted to believe her mom…but she had a feeling that her mother was trying to convince herself instead of her.

* * *

Trinity stayed in the house with the rest of her sisters and brother. She found out about Dom's strange ability of invulnerability…in a way, it comforted her that he wouldn't be able to get hurt by anything. Allie and Cara weren't showing signs of being mutants, but the young girls where growing tired of staying around the house. Dom was also becoming fidgety, but their mother would always tell them: "This is only temporary, by the summer time we'll be able to go out." Their Dad finally called and told his children not to worry and listen to their mother, while letting them know how much he missed them and that he should be home soon.

Trinity constantly watched the news and saw the story about her on it…she was shocked that someone shot a video on their cell phone and sent it to the _Daily Bugle…_the coverage was only a few seconds long, but it was long enough to establish a "mutant menace" was spotted in New Jersey. Trinity felt like she was in a nightmare…she saw most of her Facebook friends defriended her to the point that she was left to only ten friends: ten. Collette and Allison were still loyal to her, and constantly texted and called her. Trinity felt grateful for this, but couldn't bring herself to talk to them about what happened and would text them: "Im ok, I will tell u bout it l8r."

She also saw the video was posted on Youtube and felt her stomach drop at all the hateful and frightening comments posted and liked. She was now the official pariah of the world. She also watched as the news started talking about a new law enforcement agency that has been developing for years, and finally being publicized. The agency was called the Mutant Response Division…it was supposed to be a mutant police department that arrests any mutants that broke the law. It was frightening how long the government had kept this massive force a secret; it was even scarier when someone named Senator Kelly was talking about how the MRD was the first step in acquiring a new act called Mutant Registration. The first MRD station was opening early in New York…due to the mutant phenomena.

* * *

Dominic, since his mom pulled him out of school early, usually stayed in his room to work on reverse engineering anything technologically interesting. That day, he was taking apart his alarm clock. When he was cutting some wires, with his pocketknife, the knife slipped and jabbed into his hand. Dom winced instinctively, but he didn't feel any pain from the knife. He looked at his hand, which was intact and unmarked. He wondered how extensive his mutant power was… Dominic put the blade of the knife into his hand and gently wrapped his fingers around it. There was no searing pain of the knife cutting into his skin; only the cool feeling of smooth metal again his palm. Curious, Dom squeezed his hand tighter. He still didn't feel the blade pierce his skin and when he opened his hand; he gasped. The blade was slightly bent from the way he held it—his skin was so powerful that it damaged the knife. Dominic threw the knife into his top drawer and rushed out the room in excitement; wanting to see what else he could do.

Allie saw her brother walk outside to their backyard. She followed him, while grabbing a ball to play catch. She saw Dom was on the porch and asked. "Hey, you want to play some ball?"

Dom shook his head. "No, I want to try something."

"What's that?"

"I want to test my powers." Dominic smirked as he looked down at the drop from the porch to long drop to the patio.

"Mama said that you shouldn't play with your powers—"

"It's just an experiment." Dominic climbed onto the railing and stood up, while looking down.

"Dom! Get down before ya—"

Dom stepped off the railing and fell. Allie screamed as he hit the patio. Dom's feet crushed into the cement until it cracked and then something weird happened. A strange energy shook around his hands and feet. A loud and invisible force blasted from his feet like a sonic boom and he flew into the air; the patio splintering into hundreds of flying pieces beneath him. Dominic landed in the grass. He wasn't hurt, on the contrary, he was ecstatic as he laughed breathlessly. Allie ran down the steps and over to her brother. "You idiot—you could've been killed!"

"But that was frickin' amazing! I didn't even know I could do that!" Dom was grinning as he stood up proudly.

"You ruined Mama's patio." They saw the area of the patio looked like an asteroid hit it.

"It was worth it." Dom smirked. "You have to admit that was awesome."

Allie finally grinned. "Alright, it was pretty cool…" She stopped as she looked at the fence. "Dom, who is that?"

Dominic turned around and saw a man with red sunglasses watching them intently. Dominic frowned; this wasn't good. "Allie, go back inside."

"Yeah right," She replied, while holding onto his sleeve. "Do ya' think saw anything?"

"I don't know." He glared at the man, who gave them a wave. Dominic stood still and simply nodded to the man. He finally walked up to him. "Hey, you lost?" He tried to sound casual, but he was freaking out inside; hoping the man didn't see what just happened. The man looked strangely familiar, but Dominic couldn't put his finger on it.

"No, I was just taking a walk." The guy gave them a friendly smile, but the kids just scrutinized him. The man frowned a bit and asked. "I was actually looking for a friend of mine—"

"Who?" Allie asked while crossing her arms.

"Meg Lafayette, I'm actually here to talk to her daughter Trinity—"

Dom's eyes widened; this wasn't good. "Look I don't know who you are, but you better get out of here before I call the police." He nudged Allie and she knew that she should go. Allie ran toward the house as fast as her legs could carry her.

The guy raised his eyebrows. "I just want to talk to your sister—"

Dominic glared at him as he snapped. "You better leave, Trinity and Meg Lafayette don't live here and I don't like mutant-haters." This was what his family was afraid of; someone seeking them out.

The man gaped. "No, you got it all wrong, I'm here to—" he was interrupted by growling and Fury started running toward the gate: snarling and barking. He was relieved Allie let her out, because the man stepped back in alarm as the giant mastiff raced toward him. Dom held his giant pet back as he shouted. "You better go before I set her on you; don't come back here if you know what's good for you."

The man held up his hands. "Okay, don't worry; I'm leaving." He starts to walk away, but tells them. "Just tell your mom Scott Summers and Professor Xavier just want to help."

Dom watched as the guy walked off and Fury finally calmed down. He rubbed his dog's ears affectionately. "Good girl."

Allie was beside him in an instant. "I called Mama and she's on the way home; who was that guy? He's not from the MRD is he?"

Dominic shook his head. "Don't worry about; he's not coming back here."

* * *

Trinity would constantly try to distract herself from the news by babysitting her sisters. She began reading them stories like she used to and playing thousands of rounds of nursery games. Trinity hated it when it was night…when her mom had to work late. Luckily, Fury would always stand guard, and their Grandpa would come over with his rifle to watch the kids. He was always fun to talk to and he had a lot of cool stories about his days as a cop, but whenever a noise was heard he would stop midsentence to check outside: leaving the kids huddled together in dreadful waiting until he came back with a smile and a "Don't worry, it was nothin' but a stray cat." But he would keep a closer eye on the door and his rifle close to his side.

One night was extremely terrifying. Trinity was upstairs; tucking Cara into her bed. She decided to sit down in a chair and reread _A Streetcar Named Desire_. Suddenly, she heard a strange hissing sound…Trinity looked up, but didn't see anything. She then heard Fury growl downstairs. Trinity stood up and heard a branch creaking. She looked at the window, which was covered with a curtain. Trinity grabbed a small ceramic idol from the dresser and walked toward the window. She felt like something was out there…Her hand trembled as she gripped the curtain. She finally threw it aside and screamed while dropping the idol: two large, glowing eyes stared at her from a dark silhouette on the tree branch outside of the window. Trinity stumbled backward, and when she looked back at the window…the eyes were gone. Her grandpa rushed up the stairs as Cara was waking in up in alarm. Trinity hysterically explained what happened…and her grandpa opened the window while sticking his rifle out it to poke around the branch. "Must've been a raccoon."

"That was not a raccoon." Trinity argued as she held Cara, who was hugging her Bamf doll.

Her grandfather suddenly scrunched his nose. "Ugh, whatever it was it smells terrible." He shuts the window, and they suddenly see Fury walk into the room and growl at the window. Grandpa pats the dog's head. "Steady girl. If you two feel skittish, come on downstairs and I'll make you two a cup of hot chocolate. You guys up for that?"

The two sisters went downstairs and sipped their hot cocoa quietly, but Trinity was still scared. Those eyes weren't like an animal's pinpoint eye glow…they were large and gold…and they were staring directly into her own eyes.

* * *

The next night, Allie was sitting up watching _The Karate Kid_ for the fiftieth time when she saw a motorcycle. She went over to her window and peeked through her blinds to see a guy parked in front of their house on a motorcycle. He had wild black hair, and no helmet. He wore a cool leather jacket with a couple of yellow stripes on his sleeves. He was smoking a cigar as he watched the street. Allie was amazed by this guy…what was he doing here? She suddenly saw a red-headed woman walk up to him and they talked. Allie watched as the red-head blushed at something the guy said. The woman suddenly looked up at Allie's window. Allie gasped and jumped away. She heard the motorcycle drive off and when she looked back through the blinds; the two strangers were gone.

* * *

Cara sat at the table to color some more dreams she had of things that haven't been. She quietly colored as her mother relaxed with a cup of coffee and some TV. The phone rang and Meg answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello Meg." A calm, familiar voice answered. Meg almost dropped her coffee in surprise. "Ch-Charles!"

"Yes, it's me."

Meg smiled, but then frowned. "So, did Trinity and Dominic show up on Cerebro, or did Leon tell you?"

"Both." Charles replied, but his voice turned serious. "Meg, I was hoping we could talk about sending Dominic and Trinity—"

"No." Meg saw Cara was listening and moved into the next room.

The Professor sighed. "Meg, they need a safe place to learn their powers—"

"The Institute isn't as safe as it used to be Charles…remember Magneto crashing down the gates? I do."

"Times have changed Meg, our security has evolved greatly. Forge has set up new ways to keep our Institute safe. Also, there are plenty of students here around Trinity and Dominic's age. I know it's hard for you to send them away, but they will be safe here until they learn their abilities."

"Or become X-Men." Meg replied darkly.

"Well, if they're anything like their mother—" Charles tried to make some light humor, but Meg snapped:

"This isn't funny Charles…when I became an X-Man it was all heroics and fun…until we lost people; they were just kids."

Charles remained silent.

Meg sighed. "I'm sorry Professor, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's alright Meg; I know you're worried about their safety, but I believe Xavier's Institute for gifted youngsters is the best environment for them."

Meg pinches the bridge of her nose tiredly. "I just can't take any risks Charles…I can't send them away…" Meg tried to change the subject. "By the way, could you thank your new X-Man Nightcrawler for bringing Trinity to me…if he didn't I wouldn't have been able to find her."

"Of course, the X-Men have been keeping an eye on the children and will make sure they'll remain safe from any mutant hate groups. I understand your fears Meg, but the offer still stands and our door is always open. Also, some of the X-Men are going to stay in the neighborhood—"

"Charles," Meg warned. "I don't want them recruiting my kids."

"Don't worry, they're simply there as a safety precaution. Scott actually came over to speak with you, but your son and daughter chased him away."

Meg smiled; knowing it was probably Allie, and definitely knowing Dominic chased off Scott. "Thank you Professor, I appreciate the help." She hung up and went back the kitchen; wondering if she ever stop feeling like she was holding the world on her shoulders.

* * *

**Author finishes typing the last of the chapter and smiles to brother. "See, I told you that I would include the X-Men!"**

**Brother frowned. "They were short cameos."**

**"Their appearances will grow with time!"**

**"Well you're losing readers, as well as my attention, so hurry up."**

**"I'm trying, I could use your help."**

**"Hey, I'm the co-creator; not the writer."**

**"And you still want o.c. credit?"**

**"Yeah, or I'm taking Dominic away."**

**"Darn. Ok."**

**"We don't own Marvel or X-Men; we are simply borrowing them. We only own the Lafayettes, Leonardos, and other o.c.s."**

**"Please review, pm me any questions on your mind, and helpful criticism is always welcome...as long as it isn't spirit-crushingly harsh." :) "Thanks for reading!"**

**"If you don't review she'll go loco-crazy."**

**"LIAR! I AM NOT CRAZY! And it's loca, because I'm a girl and the feminine form must be used."**

**"See, it's too late."**

**"Grrs."**


	4. Chapter 3: The Incident

It was two weeks since Trinity's and Dom's mutation incidents and things have calmed down a bit; their mother was planning on taking them on a road trip to get away from town. They were all packing their bags with snacks when their mom walked in. Trinity could just feel the tension in the air and stopped packing. She knew the trip was off before her mom even said it. Trinity pushed passed her mom in frustration as she followed her. "Trinity,"

Trinity went into her room and sat on the bed to face her mother.

Meg sighed as she stood in the doorway. "I got a call from work mija…there's someone in New York who needs my help. You understand, right?"

Trinity scoffed. "Yeah I understand, I understand that we've been trapped in this house while everyone is trying to throw me into a jail cell. I understand how you just kept going to work when you knew how scared I was to be alone in the house; how Dad couldn't even take a day off work to check on Dom and me. I understand that work will always be your number one priority."

"You know that's not true—"

"Prove it." Trinity snapped. "Tell me what Dad really does for a living and tell me why you have to go."

Meg shook her head. "I'll tell you when you're older."

"Just like you told me about the family mutations…oh wait you never did, Marisol and Leon told us about it."

"Your father and I save people for a living Trinity…our jobs require sacrifices for the betterment of the community. One day you might understand. I love you, make sure the girls don't stay up too late tonight." Meg leaves her daughter behind. After a moment, Trinity raced after her and watched as her mom pulled out of the driveway and speed away. Trinity stood there and grabbed her keys and probationary license, while telling her siblings. "Come on, we're going to the mall up in Warren county."

"That's like an hour away!" Allie complained.

"Yeah, no one will recognize me there." Trinity made sure to get her conductors cap and sunglasses. "Come on, not going to let my Saturday be wasted. I'll get you guys lunch while we're there. Deal?" Trinity hoped her siblings would agree. She needed to get out of the house…out of the county.

Dominic frowns, but finally nods as Allie cheerfully agreed. Cara was quiet and staring into space.

"Cara?" Trinity nudged her littlest sister.

Cara blinked and finally nodded. "Okay, we're not going to New York though, right?"

"No," Trinity shook her head, and wondered why Cara was so anxious. "Why?"

"Bad stuff is gonna happen if we go there." Cara whispered as she hugged her Bamf doll.

Dominic smirks at Cara and picks her up. "Don't worry Cara, we ain't going to New York—everyone knows New Jersey is where it's at." He raspberries her cheek to make her laugh and succeeded in making Cara giggle. Allie grabbed onto Trinity's hand as they went into the garage and hopped into the car. Trinity backed out of the driveway and began her drive; feeling more relieved the farther away she got.

* * *

Wolverine sat on his bike patiently and saw a car race out of the Leonardo's driveway. He hears Jean's voice in his head. _Hurry Logan, we need you to follow them closely, the rest of us will be in the X-Van; we just picked up the Professor._

_Alright Jeanie,_ He starts up his motorcycle and it roars after the car. Wolverine wondered where this girl was going. As soon as they entered Warren county, the car went into the parking lot of the mall. Logan parks near the car and watches as the oldest girl, Trinity, was getting her siblings out of the car. He watches them and a blonde woman walked by him. He expected to smell burning perfume and her natural musk, but there wasn't a scent off that woman. Wolverine growled; there is only one woman he'd met that didn't have a scent: Mystique. He quickly gets off his bike and follows her into the mall.

_Jeanie,_ He called out mentally; hoping the telepathic rapport was still working between them. _Jean!_

_Sorry Logan, it's harder to hear you when you're miles away. What is your position?_

_Warren County mall, you all better hurry, Mystique's here. _

_Mystique! Are you sure?_

As he entered the mall he sees Mystique follow the kids, and when she passed behind a kiosk her hair turned into a inky-black that was cropped short. _Yeah I'm sure._

_We're almost there, luckily we were about to drive through Warren county; we are only ten minutes away._

* * *

Trinity sits her brother and sisters down at a table as she goes to get some food. She pulled her hat down and kept her sunglasses on; luckily, the intense sunlight through the skylights gave her the excuse to keep on her sunglasses. She bought some food and brought it back to her family. The children inhaled the burgers and French fries, while sipping their soda quietly. Despite the silence, Trinity knew they were happy. Soon, Allie started to chat about the Olympics and how she wanted to be a gymnastic representative for America. Dominic of course had to tell her that this was nearly impossible, and the two siblings began to argue. Trinity rolled her eyes and told them to go throw away the trash from lunch so they can start shopping. Trinity watched her brother and sister make their way to the trash bin on the other side of the food court. Trinity turned to ask Cara whether she needed to go to the bathroom, but to her horror, Cara wasn't in her seat. Trinity jumped up out of her chair and looked around for her sister. She finally saw her talking to a woman with a headdress. Trinity rushed over to Cara.

"Cara! You know you're not supposed to run off like that." Trinity grabbed her sister's hand as she looked at the woman. She was really beautiful; she would be a great model. Her sky-blue eyes were an amazing contrast to her dark skin. She looked familiar, but Trinity couldn't put her finger on it. She apologizes to her. "I'm sorry if she bothered you."

The woman smiled and she kindly answered. "She was no bother at all, she had told me remarkable stories."

Trinity nodded and dragged Cara away, and once they were out of earshot, she scolded. "You know that you can't talk to strangers Cara!"

Cara shook her head. "But Ororo wasn't a stranger,"

"Have you met her before?" Trinity asked in amazement that Cara knew the woman's name, then again, maybe the woman told Cara who she was...

"No, but I will."

Trinity sighed at her sister's strange answer. "Please, not today Cara."

* * *

Dominic and Allie finally find a trashcan, that wasn't overflowing, on the other side of the food court; right next to the elevators. When they turned around, a woman with short black hair stood in front of them. She analyzed them with indigo eyes that matched her dress and wore a dry smirk. "Hello," she purred.

Dominic wondered if she was waiting for the elevator and managed to say. "Hey,"

Allie scrutinized the woman, she didn't like the way she staring at Dom and her.

The woman holds out her hand, which had manicured nails like claws. "My name is Raven Darkholme, what's yours?"

"D-Dominic." Dominic took her hand and shook it as he gazed at her.

"That is a strong name, are you the oldest boy in your family? You definitely look like the man of the house the way you take care of your little sister." She peers at Allie's scowl and bent over, so she was her height. "And what is your name princess?"

"None of your business," Allie saucily replied. "Dom and I aren't allowed to talk to strangers.

"I'm not a stranger, I'm actually friend's with your mom: Meg Leonardo."

"Really, she never mentioned you." Allie really didn't like this chick.

Raven had a strained smile on her face. "Well, it's been a long time—"

"I never told you my last name." Dominic interrupts. "How did you know?"

Raven straightens up. "Wow you are a smart boy. You know Dominic, we could use someone with your brains, as well as your sister's spark."

"Who?" The children ask. Dominic grabbed Allies hand as they back away from Raven, until they were passed the elevators. Ms. Darkholme was going to take a step toward them, but a man came up behind her and grabbed her arm. Allie recognized the man that she saw a few nights ago. He turned the woman around and started talking to her, but they couldn't hear because a load of people were stepping out of the elevator and they soon blocked to two strangers from view. When the hoard of people passed; Raven and the man were gone. The children look around nervously and rush over to their sisters.

* * *

Logan saw Mystique talking to the kids and rushed over quickly; knowing that there would be trouble if he didn't. When the minx tried to get closer to the two children, he grabbed her arm roughly. Mystique turned around and bared her teeth; eyes flashing to their native gold. "Wolverine...why am I not surprised?"

He glares at her and growls. "Unless you want to rough house in here, you better get away from those kids."

A crowd of people walk behind them and he pulls Mystique behind a column, while she wrenches out of his grasp. She was about to strike him, but Logan grabbed her wrist before her morphed claws could touch his skin.

He sees the deadly cat-like claws she formed and grunted. "You know I have claws too darlin'," His hand that held her wrist released three deadly adamantium claws, but they quickly retracted back into his skin. Mystique glared at him without an ounce of fear as he continued. "The difference between us is, I can heal from a scuffle and you can't. Now get goin' before you get hurt." He lets go of her wrist and she slowly walked around him, while pressing her body against his.

Mystique softly snarls. "You know Wolverine, when Magneto lets me off on Xavier and his X-Men...you'll be the first to die."

"Keep dreaming darlin'." He growled as she flounces away, while turning into a scantily clad red-head.

He watched her movements closely, and followed her into a video store like a hunter stalks his prey.

* * *

Trinity noticed her brother and sister's edgy attitudes and asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just some weird people in this place." Dom said; trying to sound cool and collected.

Trinity looked around. "What happened?"

"Some weird woman named Raven Darkholme was talking to us—she said she knew mom." Allie spoke quickly as her green eyes darted around.

"It's fine," Dominic told Trinity. "She's gone now."

Trinity slowly nodded, but she could tell her siblings were still anxious. She sees a movie/TV store and said. "Hey, how 'bout we get a movie today? My treat."

Allie and Cara agree enthusiastically as Dom calmly nods. The Leonardos go into the store, which had shelves of DVD's and walls lined with TV's playing the news. Dominic and Allie raced into the store to find a movie as Trinity and Cara walk over to the sales bin next to the checkout and playing plasma screens. Trinity rifled through the bin, but froze when she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see three people standing outside the store; looking directly at them. One was a man with red sunglasses, the other man was bald and in a wheelchair, and the third was a woman with red hair. Trinity remembered seeing these people in the food court, and felt worried the way they were watching her…did they recognize her from the news? Trinity backed away from the bin and picked up Cara; causing her sunglasses to fall to the ground. She turned around quickly to almost run into a plasma screen TV. She stopped as a news reel about mutant phenoma played. Cara whined. "What's wrong Trini?"

Trinity doesn't answer as she watched the news show footage of mutant incidents. Bile rose into her throat when footage of her played—and her picture showed up on the screen:

"This mutant was caught on tape at local high school in New Jersey—Locals say the teenager's name is Trinitia Leonardo—"

Trinity turned around in alarm when she felt someone behind her. A few people were watching the news and when some peered at her they gawked. "You're the mutant that attacked the high school!" A woman exclaimed.

Trinity felt her heart stop as she shook her head. "No!"

Some more people became aware of what was happening:

"That's the mutie from News!"

"Get her outta here!"

* * *

The Professor sees the people in the store gather around Trinity. "Jean, contact Logan and get them out of there." He sensed that Trinity's powers were building into a defensive climax because of her stress and fear. He sent Allie a message telepathically to put up a force field, he knew from Cerebro that the girl would constantly create force fields in her sleep, because he knew Trinity's power of telepathic empathy could span through the store.

* * *

Trinity backed up until her back touched the TV screen. She was scared; the people had formed a ring around her. Colors begin to form around the people and she started to hyperventilate terror as she held Cara protectively. "Leave me alone; I'm not a mutant!"

People continue to shout. "Her eyes!"

"Shit!"

"Someone call the police!"

"Keep her back!"

Trinity tried to push through some people and someone shoved her back. "You're not going anywhere mutie."

Trinity felt Cara hold onto her and tremble in fear. Trinity felt like she was going to explode as her heart hammered inside of her. "I said…Leave—Us—ALONE!"

At this, Trinity felt like her heart explode as the colors intensified inside her head until it was a white light. When it cleared she felt exhausted and…all the people were on the floor. Trinity gaped as she held Cara. "Oh my God…oh no…what did I do?" The colors were still around the people. "What is happening to me!" Cara held onto her sister as she looked around the mall in shock.

* * *

The poor girl was frightened as she saw the colors, another factor of mutation, and he tried to diminish her powers telepathically. It was difficult; Trinity was very powerful. Jean was already rushing into the store when Trinity's powers lashed out. Xavier tried to block his X-Men, but Trinity's powers broke through his defenses—she had the ability to control and feel other's emotions—and she sent out a wave of exhaustion and weakness to topple her enemies. Xavier felt the minds of everyone man, woman, and child at the mall fall into forced sleep. Charles tried to stay awake as he saw Jean and Scott crumple to the ground. Soon, he too, passed out.

* * *

Dominic and Allie went over to the Sci-Fi movies and looked through the shelves. Dominic freezes when he spotted the rugged guy from before. He was leaning against the wall with a cowboy hat tilted over his eyes as he chewed on a toothpick. Allie notices him too and she smiles. "Should we go talk to him?"

Dominic rolled his eyes. "What about 'stranger danger'? You weren't very friendly with Ms. Darkholme, but you seem to like this guy."

"I saw him before."

"When?"

"Outside our house…I don't think he's gonna hurt us, Dom."

"Come on Allie, you don't know anything about the guy."

Allie shrugged, but froze as she heard a voice in her head. _Put up a shield Alicia…_

Allie shivered as she looked around fearfully. Dom notices. "Allie, what's—"

Allie felt like something was happening and grabbed onto Dom's arm and shut her eyes tightly.

Dominic yells out as a pink force field zapped around him and Allie. His hazel eyes widen as he saw numerous people faint and fall into a heap of unconsciousness; even the guy that was against the wall slid to the ground. Soon, the pink orb disappeared and Allie openend her eyes.

"Wh-What happened?" She squeaked as she held onto her brother.

He looks around in astonishment. "I-I don't know Allie—"

"Dom! Allie!" Trinity screamed.

Dominic pulls Allie along as they ran passed bodies of sleeping shoppers. They see Trinity standing up front, while holding Cara—her eyes black as night. She runs over to them and grabs Allie's hand. "We gotta go—"

The children run out of the video store and passed the three watchers, who were all on the floor. Trinity was gasping in shock as she saw everyone in the mall was unconscious. When they ran outside, they saw the parking lot was filled with sleeping bodies. The children run into their car and buckle in. Trinity placed her head against the steering wheel while whispering. "What did I do? So many colors everywhere! Make it stop…" She cahnted all of this as her younger siblings watched her fearfully.

"Trini?" Cara whimpered as she held her Bamf doll. Trinity sat up and started the car as a response and raced out of the parking lot.

Trinity continued driving, not sure where she was going, but knowing she needed to put as much distance between her and the mall. Soon, a large dark-green car came up behind her and its sirens blared. Trinity sees and slowly pulls over to the side of the highway; her nerves beginning to reach extreme levels of anxiety. The car pulled up next to her. Allie could see the gold letters on the side of the car read:

MRD: Mutant Response Division

A man in a black and olive-green uniform steps out of the car and approaches the car. Cara holds onto her doll tightly as she hides her face into Dominic's arm. Trinity lowers the window and freezes when she saw frightful colors around the man. The man kept his goggles and helmet on, while having a hand on his gun as he says. "Step out of the car ma'am, we have some questions for you about the mall incident this afternoon—"

Trinity felt her heart stop and felt hostile feelings from the man. Without hesitation, she slammed her foot onto the gas pedal while shoving the car back into drive. She speed passed the car and weaved through the highway.

"Trin! What're you doing?" Dominic held onto Cara as Allie held onto the car door for dear life.

"You don't know Dom! I saw their colors—they-they wanted to hurt us!"

"How do you know?" Dom shouted.

"I just know!" Triniy cried as she continued to race away. Allie looked behind them and saw the MRD car was chasing them; sirens blaring.

Cara sobbed into her Bamf doll. "Don't go to New York Trini, please."

Trinity ignored her as she concentrated on getting away; they have to get away.

* * *

**Author: "Told you the X-Men would be in this."**

**"About time...where's Nightcrawler?" Brother/co-creator asks.**

**"GRRR! That's all you have to say? I had awesome Logan scenes and that's all you have to say!"**

**"Yes. Where's Nightcrawler?"**

**"He'll be there! Along with Sunfire!"**

**"Beast? Leon? Avengers?"**

**"They'll be in later chapters dangn't!"**

**"...Ok."**

**"Ok? You gave me heck for this...and you tell me...'ok?'"**

**"Yeah, you work better under pressure. Btw, can't believe how silly Trini is, leaving her house alone to spite her mom. D.I.D. much?"**

**"Damsel in distress?"**

**"Actually, you used to call it dumbas-"**

**"Ey! No! Not this time. No."**

**"Ok...no cultural references either?"**

**"No."**

**"Okay, next time we'll see the chase, the fear, and MRD...with a special character that Taliym5 drastically altered-hey, put the magazine down sister!" Brother glares at his sister. "I was going to say, despite the one character's drastic change, I like him a whole lot better for it."**

**"Who wants to guess who the special character is? In my story, he's a MRD agent, is it: Graydon Creed? John Wraith? Or Bolivar Trask?"**

**"This game insults my intelligence! Ok, we don't own Marvel...but maybe one day they can give us the rights...one day."**

**"R&R please. Thanks for reading! Have any questions, just ask." :)**

* * *

**"AHH!" Author shrieks.**

**Brother runs in. "What!"**

**"I was rereading our chappies, and I made a fatal mistake!"**

**"You mentioned angels?"**

**"What? No, stop referring to Nostalgia Critic."**

**"But he's funny."**

**"No. I didn't have the beginning of this chapter up! Ah! Don't worry readers, it's up now, I can't believe we missed that!"**

**"Yeah, how could you miss that-"**

**"I will punch you with a pillow. Anyways, here is a fixed chapter, just giving you more of a explanation of why the kids went to the mall...Trinity being angsty. Maybe I should make the category angst as well?"**

**"Go for it. Trinity's really angsty at times."**

**"Sigh. Sorry for the mishap...r&r please and thank you."**


	5. Chapter 4: The Chase

Professor Xavier was the first to wake up and saw that everyone in the mall were unconscious as dozens of paramedics were bent over the sleeping shoppers as some begin to wake up. Charles propped himself onto his arms when he realized he fell out of his chair. Someone suddenly walked over and helped him back into it. Charles saw it was Ororo. She looked worried as she asked. "Charles, what has happened?"

The professor explained. "It was Trinity, her powers activated in an extreme way."

"Powers, is she telepath then? Like Jean thought?"

He doesn't answer as he concentrated on his X-Men's minds and woke them telepathically. Even Nightcrawler and Sunfire were asleep in the X-van outside. "Not really Ororo, Trinity has a very powerful psionic abilities to feel, see, and control others emotions." He concentrates as he telepathically searched for the children. He found their minds and could read their fear and confusion—He gasped and broke from them when he saw the danger they were in.

"Professor?" Scott asked in concern; he was now awake and helping Jean to her feet.

"We must hurry, the MRD are chasing the children." He scans the mall and notices Mystique was gone…and a strange interference…wait, there were MRD agents on the second floor of the mall. "We must leave now, the MRD has long discovered the children's abilities, and we must get to the Leonardos before they do!" Logan had just run out of the video store as he heard this and followed them quickly.

* * *

Trinity had just crossed the New York and New Jersey border, but she was running out of gas and more cars were chasing her. She tried calling for help on her cell, but her signal was dead for some reason. She decided to go through the back roads—any street that could give her the edge for a moment.

She screeched through a dark backstreet and turned onto a main one—thinking she finally lost her pursuers. As soon as she turned onto the street a MRD car screeched out of an alley. Trinity screamed as she swerved away—trying not to collide with the car, but ended up crashing into a pole. The car skidded into the beam—Trinity couldn't even tell what it was—but there was snapping noise as soon as the left side of the crashed into the pole. Then there was another crash overhead. Trinity blinked in a daze as her ears rang. She saw the cement pole. It smashed through the ceiling of the car. She managed to turn around and gasped in horror. The pole was on top of Dominic's body.

Dom hears his sister and grunts. "Trin—I'm okay, but I'm stuck." Fortunately, his mutant ability protected him from large beams as well.

Trinity nodded nervously as she checked on Allie and Cara. Allie was holding onto the door still as she rubbed the seatbelt burn on her shoulder. Cara had unbuckled herself from the car-seat and threw herself onto the floor to avoid the beam from crushing her. She laid on the floor holding onto her doll and trembling in terror. Trinity crawled into the passenger seat as soon as she heard sirens again. She kicked the door open and stumbled out. She saw the MRD car had collided into a vacant pawn shop and the driver was propped up by his airbag: unconscious. Trinity wrenched her sisters' door open and helped Allie out as she picked up Cara. She heard the sirens growing louder as she put Cara down to try to move the beam off her brother.

Dominic shook his head. "No use."

"Shut up." Trinity told him as she tried to get him out.

"Trin, you gotta move—"

"No, not without you!"

"Trust me!" Dominic snapped. "Just back away."

Trinity saw the seriousness in his hazel eyes and reluctantly got out of the car. She picked up Cara again as she lead Allie away from the car and next to the alley way and a large bookstore that was closed.

Dominic placed his hands on the heavy beam holding him down and concentrated. He felt his hands vibrate with the invisible energy a loud shockwave hit the pole; shattering it into thousands of cement pieces. Dominic was able to move and tried to get out his door, which was stuck, so he kicked it; letting the force of his powers knock the metal door from its hinges. He scrambled out of the car and onto the street, but froze when a bright light hit him along with the blaring noise of the siren. Dominic turned around as a MRD car skidded around the corner and was only five feet away from him.

Trinity, Allie, and Cara screamed. "DOM!"

Dominic heard the screeching of tires as the car tried to stop, but he knew it was going to hit him…so he was going to hit it back. Dominic lifts his hands and let the force move all over his arms and legs. When the car met Dominic's hands; he felt the metal bend around his fingers like putty—and he shoved against the vehicle as the energy blasted the car backwards until it flip onto the last street. As soon as the car stopped; a few MRD agents hop out.

Dominic rushes over to his sisters to warn them to run. Suddenly, they heard a whistling noise and a crash as the bookstore they stood beneath burst into flames. The fire spread with impossible speed in a second as the blaze spat out fiery debris toward the children. Trinity shrieked as she held Cara and ran from the fire; thinking Dom and Allie were right behind her. When she heard more sirens, she ran into the alley while panting to her family. "Hurry! Hurry!" She stopped when she didn't hear her brother or sister. She turned around and saw they weren't behind her. Trinity felt terror grip her heart as she whispered. "Allie…Dominic?" Cara whimpers as she held onto her sister. Trinity suddenly hears a couple of people running toward her and saw two shadows coming around an alley corner…she almost felt relieved as her brother and sister were approaching. Trinity felt alarmed when new colors formed … dangerous … hostile…aggressive feelings emanated from the colors.

Cara suddenly squealed. "Run Trini!"

Trinity backed away and broke into a run as soon as she saw a man in a MRD uniform round the corner instead of her siblings. Trinity held her baby sister close to her body as she sprinted through the alleys as heavy boot falls of her pursuers echoed behind her. Trinity's and Cara's hearts beat with the same terrified pace as the chase began.

* * *

Allie saw a flaming piece of the bookstore falling toward her. She lifted up her arms and screamed in terror. Allie suddenly felt something grow in her head as a large pink orb formed around her and shielded her from the debris and fire. She stared at the force field in amazement, but she quickly ran away from the fire and into another alley. She looked around and couldn't find her sisters or brother. She started crying as she heard the sirens grow louder and crept into the alley quickly; hoping she could find her family before the MRD found her.

* * *

Dominic hears Allie's screams and tries to push through the flaming pieces of wreckage, but something hit him and he fell to the ground. "ALLIE!" He yells as he stood and knocked over debris to try to find her. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Dominic stumbles from the fire and sees his skin was free of burns while his clothes smoldered. When he sees Trinity and Cara were gone, he runs into the alley and looks around for his sisters. "Trin! Cara! Allie!" He shouted desperately. The only sound that answered him were screeching tires of vans and cars, and heavy doors opening as dozens of feet hit the street behind him. Dominic ran into the alley as fast as he could. He needed to find the girls!

* * *

The X-Men arrive in New York quickly. The X-Van, Scott's car, and Logan's bike parked in a secluded alley as they leapt from their vehicles; dressed in their X-Men uniforms. Charles was already getting out of Scott's car and onto the wheelchair Jean unloaded for him. As Charles sat down he ordered Scott. "Cyclops, I sense Mystique is here along with her Brotherhood…they are pursuing Dominic…here are the boy's coordinates." He telepathically shows Scott, aka Cyclops, where Dominic was.

Cyclops nods as his silver and ruby quartz visor blazed over his eyes. "Got it, Marvel," Scott turns to his girlfriend/teammate Jean. "Storm," He then glances at Ororo, who ditched her headdress so her white hair was billowing in the wind that she created with her powers of weather manipulation. "You two are with me."

"Trinity and Cara are together, but the MRD are chasing them…Wolverine, here are the coordinates—remember we must proceed with caution to protect the girls and avoid bloodshed. Take Nightcrawler and Sunfire with you. I will go after Allie alone; the poor girl is safe from both the MRD and Brotherhood, but she terrified." The Professor starts rolling away quickly, as Cyclops and his group ran through the alley. Wolverine turns to his group. Shiro Yoshida, aka Sunfire, was donned in his usual red ninja garb, with the traditional symbol of the Japanese rising sun on his back and the top of his mask. Sunfire was a mutant, a new member from Japan who could project fire and fly. He flew onto the roof as his body was covered in flames.

Nightcrawler, Kurt Wagner, was a German kid that the Professor rescued from Winzeldorf. He had been on the team for five years, since he came to the mansion when he was fourteen years old. The kid looked like a blue, fuzzy demon with his spade tail and glowing yellow eyes, but the elf had a heart of gold and was one of the only members Wolverine trusted; let alone tag along with when he wasn't in uniform. Kurt teleported onto the roof in a puff of sulfur smoke as Wolverine followed. "Alright you two, the kids are heading this way," Wolverine points in the direction. "Let's go." He ran as he jumped off the roof and onto the next one. Sunfire flew beside him silently as Nightcrawler teleported after him. "Right behind you oh fearless one," He grinned as he flipped over to the next roof with a laugh.

Sunfire huffed. "Stop showing off Nightcrawler, this is serious."

As Nightcrawler ran on all fours he answers with a smile. "If you do not have a sense of humor in this line of work herr Sunfire; it's gets a little too difficult for a man to function."

"Man, pah! You're just a boy Nightcrawler, and I can't find humor in children running for their lives." Sunfire spat in disgust.

Kurt teleports over some roofs as he answered gravely. "Neither do I Sunfire, I understand what it's like to run for my life, so we better hurry and save Trinity and Cara."

Wolverine kept leaping over roofs as he followed the scent of the girls and smelt men, laser pellets, and gunpowder. He growls at his teammates. "Shut up and keep yer eyes open for em'; they're close."

* * *

Allie ran quickly as she hid behind dumpsters and trashcans whenever she heard someone coming. She felt terrified as she searched for her family and tried not to cry, or else the MRD might hear her. When she ran into her fifth dead end in the alleys, she knelt down and hugged her knees. "What am I going to do?" She trembled.

"Allie," A calm, kind voice called behind her.

Allie jumped to her feet in an instant and gaped fearfully at the man behind her. He sat before her in a wheelchair, and watched her calmly with wise grey eyes as he gave her a friendly smile. "It's alright, I just want to help you." He holds out his hand to her.

Allie didn't understand why she didn't hear him approach, and stayed away from him and whispered. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier, I taught your mother Meg, your uncle Leon, and aunt Marisol—" Allie winced at Marisol's name. Charles could read the pain in her mind, the pain of losing her aunt three years ago. The same pain Charles felt as he remembered his student. "I taught them how to control and use their mutant powers for the betterment of our world. You have powers just like they did. The ability to project geometric force fields."

"You—you spoke to me in my head." Allie gasped.

"Yes, that's my power, I'm a telepath. Has Hank told you about telepaths on one of his visits?"

Allie's green eyes widen as she nods. "Yeah, and tia Marisol was one too, right?"

"Yes, she had amazing gifts, like your mother, Leon, and you and your siblings. Allie, I only want to help you." He holds out his hand again. "I know you're scared, but I promise you, we will find your sisters and brother and get you all to safety."

Allie stepped away from the wall and cautiously takes the Professor's hand. She then breaks down crying. Charles holds the child and pats her back gently as she sobbed in relief from the fear and chaos that she experienced, and finally finding a savior to help her and her family. When she finished crying, Charles held on her hand and leads Allie to the rest of her family.

* * *

Dominic ran into another alley; relieved that he managed to shake the MRD agents off his path. He looked around wildly for a hiding place; knowing the MRD would soon find him. He had been looking for his sisters everywhere, but he couldn't find a trace of them. His heart hammered in both terror and worry for himself and his family. He takes a step, but something zipped passed him. It was too solid to be the wind, and too fast to be anything else. When he saw a slim figure standing before him; he froze in shock. The stranger was a man and he was in a black helmet and leather costume with a electric-blue design of a lightning bolt on his leather jacket and silver armor on his shoulders, knees, and wrists. The helmet was like a motorcycle helmet, and had a blue face shield the same color of the lightning bolt, and it made the stranger more mysterious than he should be. A voice resonated through the helmet as the man ran up to Dominic with incredible speed. "The name's Quicksilver brother, and I see that you could use some help."

Dominic blinked and jumped when Quicksilver was on the other side of him. "You're a mutant!"

Quicksilver nods quickly. "Keep up brother, or those agents will catch up to you. Can't be too slow." He talked quickly as he rocketed behind him. Dominic turned around and saw Quicksilver standing with a giant blob of a man, a man with grey body armor and weird helmet, and Raven Darkholme from the mall.

Dominic takes a step back nervously and asked. "Who are you guys?"

"We're the Brotherhood of Mutants, Dominic," Raven tells him as she walks up to him. "Like you, we have incredible abilities. Like you, we have been persecuted because of the way we were born: homo superior." She suddenly changes; her skin becoming blue, her eyes transforming into gold orbs, and her hair turning into a fiery red. She was no longer wearing a dress, but brown leather pants, combat boots, and a brassiere-like top. Her widow's peak had a strange pin of a circle with two horn-like projections like the Taurus sign. He noticed that the pin had a M on it, and saw the other mutants had "M" on their armor.

Dominic remembered the Brotherhood from the news and exclaimed. "You're terrorists." He instantly felt the tension grow around him.

Mystique smiles and argues. "Keeping good terms with the public doesn't keep you out of a cell. We're fighting for our freedom, not waiting around to be enslaved. We see a great fighter inside of you and Allie."

He backs away from her; why did she only mention Allie? "Why should I trust you?"

"Because." Quicksilver flashed over behind him and then to his left in a blur of black. "We're the only hope you have."

Dominic glares at them, suddenly remembering the stories Leon told him about the Brotherhood. "You know, my uncle Leon told me stories of the Brotherhood…he said that trusting them was asking to be a part of a brotherhood of _evil_ mutants."

Raven frowned as she glared down at the boy. "Oh really? You think you can keep your slate clean to stay alive?"

Quicksilver sped over to stand next to his team.

Dominic warily watches them and nods. "Yeah, and I'm not looking to be terrorist, I just want to find my sisters and get out of here."

Raven walks over to her group slowly, while asking. "Is that a 'no', little man?"

Dominic nods. "Yeah, it is."

Quicksilver shook his head in a blur of speed. "That's too bad, we were hoping to have you come with us on your own terms—oh well, Blob," He motions to the massive mutant. "Get him and let's take him back to base."

Blob nods as he walks toward Dominic; the ground shaking with each step until he broke into a run toward him.

Dominic raised his fists as he ran at Blob head-on. When he felt the energy buzzing in his legs he jumped to tackle Blob. As soon as he hit the giant's stomach, he bounced off the mounds of fat and tumbled down the alley. _That worked out better in my head. _ He thought as he stood up to face the Brotherhood.

Before the Blob could come any closer, someone from behind Dominic shouts. "Duck!" Dominic threw himself to the ground as a red laser shoots above him and hits Blob with enough force to knock the brute onto the man with the weird helmet. Dom rolled over to see a guy with a steaming visor and a blue and gold costume standing behind him. Dominic instantly recognized the guy he chased off at his house and gaped at him in surprise. Before he could say anything, a woman with glowing white eyes flew down and picked him up as Quicksilver sped passed to attack laser-eyes. Suddenly, Quicksilver floated into the air as he was thrown into a wall.

The woman carried Dominic to a corner of the alley out of the fight as she tells him. "Stay here little one." He gazed at her in amazement and nodded. She flew back up into the air as wind and clouds swirled around her black cape and skin suit. She threw her arm down toward Blob who was getting up and a lightning bolt struck him into unconsciousness. Dom jumped when he heard gunshots and saw Raven shooting at a red-headed woman who was waving her hand; causing each bullet to miss her and hit the walls. She then lifts up the mutant terrorist and with a wave of her hand, threw her into the air. The terrorist screamed, until the screams turned into caws as the mutant transformed into a raven and flew away from the battle.

Dominic watched this all with wide eyes as the three rescuers turned to him. The red-headed woman asked. "Are you alright Dominic?"

Dom nodded and sputtered. "How do you know—?"

"Your name?" The woman gives him a smile. "I'm a telepath Dom, I can read your mind. Also, Meg always told me how she was going to name her first son Dominic Salvatore."

"You know my mom…wait how do I know that you aren't just collecting information out of my head?" Dominic may have been grateful, but he wasn't stupid.

Jean thinks for a moment and tells him. "You're just like Leon, except he wouldn't be as respectful as you are. I'm afraid you're just going to have to trust us. We've been watching over you and your sisters to try to protect you all—"

_Great job, _He thought darkly.

The woman frowned and Dom realized she heard that. "I know, we were at the mall when Trinity's powers went out of control. We weren't able to shield ourselves from the empathy-blast…"

The visor guy walks up to Dominic and tells him. "Dominic, we are here to help you and your sisters, and we won't leave until we're sure you're safe. You're going to have to trust us."

Dominic looks at the strangers; they were different from the Brotherhood…they cared about all of his sisters. "Really?"

The man nods gravely. "We're not leaving anyone behind."

Dominic nods in understanding. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Dom tried to keep on his feet and saw the weird-helmet mutant was standing up with his hands raised; causing the tremors rolling through the ground. Pieces of the vacant buildings behind them started to crumble into debris. The man shoots a laser from his visor, which hits the terrorist, but debris continued to fall around them. The telepath was keeping debris from hitting them with telekinesis, but even she couldn't stop every piece from falling. Dominic sees a massive chunk of building falling toward the lightening-woman. He ran over and pushed her out of the way as the debris fell on top of him.

Storm gasped as someone pushed her as she was trying to dodge debris. When she turned, she saw the boy with arms outstretched, until a massive piece of debris fell on him. Scott sees what happens and races over to where Dominic stood. Jean used her powers to quickly lift the debris off the boy as the X-Men held their breath in fear of what they would see.

Dominic felt the debris lift off of him and he stood up, while dusting himself off; injury-free. The three heroes gazed at the boy in amazement as Storm went over to him and checked his face for any bruising. "I'm alright." Dom tells her and Ororo smiled and kissed his cheek. He flushed a deep red.

She tells him. "That was very brave little one."

"Uh…thanks…" Dom muttered. "What's your name?"

"Storm is my code name, but I am Ororo Munroe." She tells him as she continued to smile at him gratefully.

Scott puts a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Great job Dominic,"

"No problem…" He suddenly remembers the guy's name. "Scott?"

"Call me Cyclops." Scott tells Dominic as he motions to Jean. "And this is Marvel—"

"Cyclops," Marvel interrupts. "I just got a message from the Professor, he found Alicia; she's safe and they're heading over to us."

Dominic felt his shoulders drop in relief as he exclaimed. "Allie!"

Cyclops nods as he leads the boy. "Come on hero, let's go."

* * *

Trinity felt like she couldn't run anymore and leaned against a wall to take some shaky breaths while holding her baby sister Cara close to her. Her mind was filled with so much fear she couldn't think straight. Fear from the mall incident, the chase, the car accident, the explosion, with no idea where Allie and Dominic went as well as what the MRD officers would do with them. _Protect Cara. _Was all she could think of; she could barely take another step and managed to evade the agents but she could still hear them and knew that they could easily catch both of them. She looked around the ally and saw a few trash cans; putting down Cara, who was clutching her little "bamf" doll, Trinity started to move a trash can aside and motioned for Cara to come over. Cara raced over and tugged on her sister's shirt. "Trini, we have to keep going or they'll catch us." Trinity lifted her sister up and placed her between the trash cans while putting a tattered towel over her.

"I can't carry you anymore Cara." Trinity told her sister as she tried to keep her voice from shaking.

"Then I'll run like you!" the little 4 year old tried to hug her sister but Trinity kept her behind the trash bins. "No Cara, you have to stay here," she quickly gives the girl her cell phone. "When you receive service again call 9-1-1 and mommy, just hold the 2 and it'll call her, but wait until the MRD are gone understand?"

"Trini…" Cara's lower lip trembled.

"Cara, promise you'll stay hidden until they're gone; baby don't tell anyone you're a mutant, understand?" Trinity nervously checked behind her as she heard far-away shouts.

"I want to stay with you Trini, so we can find Allie and Dom together." Cara cried as Trinity hugged her.

"Don't worry they'll find you, promise me you'll stay safe. I love you hermanita." Trinity quickly kisses the top of Cara's head, and moved the bins around her little sister until she was sure she was completely hidden. Worry grasping her heart Trinity quickly ran away from the hiding place and toward the MRD; she needed to distract them for her sisters' and brother's sake for escape.

Nightcrawler couldn't believe what he just saw through the binoculars and teleported over to Sunfire and Logan who stood next to a trashed MRD truck and a few KO-ed MRD agents.

"Wolverine! The oldest, Trinity, she left the littlest one."

"She what?!" asked Sunfire in shock.

"She's trying to lead the MRD away from her sister!" Kurt explained quickly.

"Shit," muttered Wolverine climbing to the rooftop; racing and jumping while following Trinity's scent.

"If she causes trouble, those officers will kill her Logan-san." Sunfire said while flying after him with flames trailing around him. Kurt simply teleported as quickly as he could.

"Tell me something I don't know Sunfire." Wolverine pushed himself to go move faster when he heard screaming.

Trinity peaked around the corner of the alley and saw the MRD agents searching around and rumbling about not being able to find a single mutant. Trinity took a shaky breath and ran passed the alley's entrance; making sure the officers saw her. With a shout; they quickly pursued her. She ran as far as she could before she was Tasered. The shock sent her to the ground shaking until she was roughly grabbed and dragged off. To her horror they dragged her over to the alley she hid Cara in; where a MRD truck was now being parked in the mouth of the alley. Trinity starting to thrash at the agents and scream bloody murder. Remembering a fighting move her dad taught her; she quickly bit the soldier's shoulder who held her right arm causing him to loosen his grip. She tore her arm from his and gave him a round house kick in his back. Her left side twisted her left arm to the point of almost dislocating her shoulder. Trying to ignore the pain; Trinity threw her fist into his nose. The colors were blazing around the men beside her. He quickly let her go to attend to his bloody nose, but when Trinity tried to run; MRD agents surrounded her in a wide ring with guns ready. She felt like a caged animal as fear and adrenaline coursed through her. She saw the colors and felt their emotions: disgust, anger, and fear. One agent broke through the ring and walked toward her.

"What do you think you're doing mutant?" he sneered.

"Captain Graydon Creed, this is the eldest of the mutant children." one of the agents droned.

Creed smirked cruelly as he towered over Trinity, while saying. "Alright mutant, I know you know where those muties are, so go ahead and tell me and your sentence will be reduced."

Trinity simply glared at Creed; strange colors of maroon and dark violet surrounded him.

Noticing that Trinity's eyes were turning black with her powers, Creed quickly gave her a right hook to dispatch her; knocking her to the ground. Trinity gasped as she hit the ground and the side of her face throbbed in pain.

"You caused us a lot of trouble tonight mutant, injured a lot of good men, now you've tried my patience." He spat down at her.

One agent says. "Sir, if we injure the mutant—"

"Human rights do not apply to mutants agent Jones; when a mutant tries to activate their powers it counts as an assault upon a MRD agent. Now give me your com-link." The agent hands Creed a walkie-talkie and he turns it on as he glares at the mutant on the ground. "Last chance to tell me where the rest are." Trinity simply glowered at him from the ground, and he puts talks into his com-link. "Squadron 6, we found the oldest mutant, but the others are still out here."

"Orders captain?" a voice scratched through the walkie-talkie.

With an amused glint in his eye he glared at Trinity and responded. "Shoot on sight, these are highly dangerous mutants after all."

Trinity jumped up and lunged for Creed; trying to tackle him to the ground, but he knocked her off and two new agents held her arms. Creed took out a Taser and shoved it into her stomach without remorse. Trinity shook in pain until she was able to glare up at him.

"You attacked me; I have the right to subdue you with dangerous force mutie. If you want to save them, tell us where they are." He simply smiled.

Trinity felt her body burn in pain, exhaustion, and fear. She finally managed to open her mouth to scream: "GO TO HELL!"

Creed turned up the Taser and slammed into her stomach again and again. Trinity couldn't move, she couldn't think so she went with her instincts. All of the sudden the guards holding her fell over as well, like they were being electrocuted.

Creed's eyes widened as he saw what happed and discarded the Taser to pull out his glock. He grabbed the girl by the shirt collar and threw her against the wall and held her there. He made sure she faced him, so he could watch her black eyes as she died… He didn't know what drove him for this want, but he simply cocked the gun and pointed it toward her chest.

* * *

**Author's Note/Brother's notes.**

**Brother notices the title. "My name should be first."**

**"Brother." Author growls.**

**"Just saying."**

**"Don't make me angry...you won't like it when I'm angry."**

**"You'd wish that you were the Hulk. Anyways, love the action, I remember when you first told me this story. Ugh, Quicksilver always annoys me for some reason."**

**"Why don't you like him?"**

**"Because he's Quicksilver."**

**"Good point, but jokes aside-"**

**"Oh yeah, as you all (Audience) can see, Creed is the MRD agent. For those who guessed right-"**

**"You get a cookie!" **

**"We ran out."**

**"Oh...you get an imaginary cookie!"**

**"Or tracking cookies...jk...don't sue us...those things are just everywhere."**

**"Isn't Creed a bit off his rocker?"**

**"She means he's crazy, but his original character was too, so continuity still remains. Why does he want to kill Trin so much?"**

**"He has an unstable hatred toward mutants, duh. Oh, also, Trinity's emotion-powers are out of control-"**

**"Wait, she's accidently making Creed koo-koo?"**

**"No! No giving away anything, you'll find out later. Also readers, check out ch 3., b/c I forgot to place a paragraph of the chapter beginning, but it's up now-"**

**"And makes so much more sense."**

**"Sorryz! We only own the Leonardos-and we don't own Marvel or X-Men. Please review-let us know your thoughts-"**

**"Be respectful. Why? B/c if you don't I'll take back your imaginary cookie-prize."**

**"Thanks for reading!" ;)**


	6. Chapter 5: Safe at Last

Trinity saw colors swirling around and saw a gun pointed at her chest as Creed snarled. "I'm going to shoot you, you damn monster, if you keep hurting my men. Now give me the answers I want."

Trinity felt fear course through her, but managed to croak. "You won't find them."

Creed's face contorted as he pulled the trigger. Trinity looked at the sky as she braced herself.

All of a sudden, purple and black smoke surrounded her as someone wrapped an arm around her waist. Creed was suddenly kicked back and a gunshot was heard, but Trinity wasn't in the alley anymore; she was looking down at it. She held onto someone who carried her. Trinity closed her eyes she saw the warm, kind colors of gold that surrounded the man that held her. Trinity kept her eyes closed as she held onto the man tightly; afraid to look back down at the alley."Shh, fraulein, it's alright, you're safe." A voice of German origin told her.

Trinity opened her eyes when she heard a "snicht" sound and saw a man standing in front of her in a strange yellow and black mask and uniform, with knives coming out of his hands, jump off the building. She felt relief run through her when she realized she was away from Creed.

"Nightcrawler, you should probably put her down before she sees you." A man said as he flew away in flames. Trinity slowly looked up at the man carrying her and her eyes widen as she saw a blue face, pointed ears, and glowing gold eyes. He saw her stare and she felt him grow wary as he put her down gently and took a step away from her. She then saw he had a spade tail and only three digits on his hands and feet. She remembered seeing a similar picture of a demon out of her Grandma's bible. He was lean and muscled, he had a strangely handsome face, despite the fact it was blue. She wasn't afraid of him, though, she was grateful. "You saved me!" she couldn't stop staring at him; she never saw anything like him.

"There's no need to be afraid. I won't hurt you leibchen; we are here to help you and your family." He held up his strange hands that were covered in white gloves. "I know what you're thinking; this is a wicked costume." He motions to himself; trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

Trinity felt relief run through her. "Thank you—"

She suddenly felt herself freeze in fear and raced over to the side of the building. Nightcrawler grabbed her before she could jump off. "No! She's still down there, Cara!" Trinity screamed as she watched in horror as a MRD agent was thrown into the trash bins. Little Cara shrieked as she was revealed and started crying in fear.

Everyone's attention turned toward the little girl. Wolverine leapt over the agents and scooped up Cara in his arms as some agents started to shoot at him, luckily, Sunfire was creating as much fire-melee as possible to protect the mutant and little girl. Trinity reached out to grab her sister as Wolverine jumped onto the fire escape and handed the child off to Trinity while bellowing. "Nightcrawler, keep 'em back!"

As soon as Trinity hugged her sister, Nightcrawler teleported them to the middle of the roof and made them sit down. "Cara, Cara," Trinity cooed as she held her whimpering sister. "We'll be okay, Trini is here."

Cara started to calm down and looked up at the blue mutant while smiling as she jumped over and hugged him. "Thank you Kurt, you saved Trini!"

Kurt barely had enough time to catch the little girl as she hugged him.

_Kurt? Does Cara know him? _Trinity picked up Cara's doll and gawked; the Bamf doll looked just like Nightcrawler, but that was impossible…right? Cara never met this man before…has she?

He smirked as he patted her back. "You're welcome…Cara." This wasn't the usual reaction he received from people, which made him glad.

Trinity smiled at the exchange, and tried to stand, but fell over as she felt a wave of vertigo hit her. Kurt noticed and put Cara down as he crawled over to Trinity. He checked her pulse as he examined her and realized the back of her head had a gash on it. Grabbing the first aid kit from the pack he carried, he wrapped up her injury quickly while asking. "What is your name?" he had to make sure she didn't have a concussion.

"Trinitia Leonardo," she answered; while trying to focus.

"How old are you?"

"16."

"What is that girl's name?" he motioned to Cara.

"It's Cara, I just said that didn't I ?" Trinity looked at him confusion.

He grinned at her; showing his fangs. "Sorry, had to make sure you didn't have a concussion."

"Thanks," She tried to remember his name. "…Kurt, but my brother and sister are still missing." She hoped the MRD didn't catch them.

"Don't worry, they are safe, the Professor has your sister Allie and our leader found Dominic."

Trinity nodded as she fell to all fours in exhaustion and the reality kicked in. She felt so small on that rooftop. Cara crawled over and embraced her big sister.

Kurt sadly watched them. He knew exactly what they were going through; the same thing happened to him in Germany where the X-Men saved him.

Trinity lets go of Cara because her abdomen was hurting. She lifts up her shirt to see her stomach and blanched. Her stomach was covered with burns from the Taser; a dozen small circles festered on her skin. Kurt saw this as well, and muttered. "Verdamnt!" He started treating the burns the best he could. Trinity remained still as her hands shook; trying not to lose it. Soon, Kurt was finished wrapping her up, and he pats her shoulder kindly. "You're a strong madchen, Trinity."

"Thanks," Her voice cracked as she hid her face into Cara's hair.

They all suddenly saw the man who was on fire fly in front of them. "Nightcrawler, it's safe to bring them down, we need to regroup with the others."

Nightcrawler looked at Trinity who looked instantly frightened.

"I don't think that's a gutt idea, Herr Sunfire." Nightcrawler helped Trinity up.

The fiery ninja flew toward Trinity and said. "You've been very brave child, but if you wish to get out of here you have to be braver than ever. Don't you want to keep your family safe?"

Trinity stared at Sunfire with a pained expression. Kurt placed a protective arm around her. "Nein—"

"No," Trinity interrupted. "He's right, are you sure that the agents are…taken care of?"

Sunfire nodded. Trinity picked up Cara. Nightcrawler gave them a reassuring nod as he wrapped his arms around them and teleported to the ground. Cara coughed from the brimstone smoke, as Trinity fearfully looked around. The alley was littered with unconscious MRD agents she kept close to Nightcrawler as he teleported them down the alley to the third hero. "Ladies, this is Wolverine." Nightcrawler introduced them to the clawed mutant. Wolverine was shorter than most guys she knew, but he was powerfully built and had fiery blue eyes hidden beneath his mask. His aura, whatever the colors Trinity saw around him, was orange edged with an electric blue and red. Trinity trusted him as well, but she knew she needed to tread lightly around him.

Trinity nodded to Wolverine. "Thank you Wolverine, especially for saving Cara."

Wolverine nodded back at her as he lit a cigar and started smoking it. They all started walking someplace else. When they turned a corner, Trinity saw Dominic and Allie holding each other's hands and walking among a group of interesting characters.

"Allie! Dominic!" shouted Cara, jumping out of Trinity's arms and tackling her older siblings in an embrace. Trinity quickly followed her and hugged her siblings. "God, thank you." she whispered as she held Allie and Dominic in a bear hug with Cara between them. Allie's face was tear stained, but had the genuine smile that Trinity loved so much as the preteen leaned her head on her shoulder. Dominic had a proud smirk on his face, but his hazel eyes showed relief as he held Cara and Allie. Trinity looked up at their heroes. She saw a man wearing a red visor, a beautiful African woman with white hair and eyes, a red-headed lady with amazing green eyes, and a man in a wheel chair with a kind face. She looked at all them, realizing how familiar they all were—not just because she saw them at the mall…but she saw them elsewhere. She suddenly remembered the pictures in her mother's scrapbook, Uncle Leon's high school stories, the news footage, and the people who have been following them in the mall. She finally asked the question on their minds. "Who are you?"

The man with the visor spoke with a deep and commanding voice: "We're the X-Men."

Trinity stared at them in shock. The mysterious vigilante mutant group was standing in front of her. Most of them were also her Uncle Leon's, dear Aunt Marisol, and mother's old school friends from the prep school: "Xavier's Institute for gifted youngsters," she gaped. "You-you're from that school. The school my mom attended. You're also the X-Men, the people who have been following us in the mall." Trinity felt her brother Dominic squeeze her shoulder reassuringly as she remembered the frightful experience.

"Yes," A woman with white hair and glowing eyes answered. She was the beautiful woman Cara was talking to in the mall, Ororo, and she knelt down to tell them. "We have been keeping an eye on you to keep you safe from any anti-mutant groups and the Brotherhood terrorists."

Trinity shook her head. "The MRD?" She knew it was wrong to say that, after they saved her, but if they've been watching them then why didn't they stop the MRD before the chase or the explosion?

The man in the wheel chair rolled up and looked into Trinity's eyes with his grey ones. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I'm sorry we were unfortunately delayed. We weren't prepared when your powers manifested in the mall."

Trinity felt her eyes widen. "You mean…my powers took you out as well?" Trinity felt sick to her stomach. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"I know Trinity, that's why we're going to—" The professor stopped talking as a voice echoed in their heads. _X-Men, we have trouble; create a formation around the children. _

Trinity stood up while holding onto Cara and Dom; Allie clung to Dominic's hand as the X-Men surrounded the children protectively. Trinity felt terror seize her as she hears the chopping noise of a helicopter. A bright light showed up on them as the wind smacked at their skin. As soon as the helicopter showed up, three MRD trucks pulled up in front of them and dozens of men leapt out with rifles trained on them. Creed was there as well; awake and furious. He glared directly at Trinity as he commanded. "Freeze; we'll shoot if you make any hostile movements."

The professor narrowed his eyes as glowing red dots showed up on him and his team. "Graydon Creed, this doesn't have to end in violence. Simply let us go and we can all go home in peace." His voice was level, loud, and clear enough to drown out the sound of helicopter blades. Dominic scowled at the hovering mass, which held a few agents with sniper rifles.

Creed sneered. "Too late, these mutants," He points his gun toward Trinity and her family. "Are wanted for terrorism of a civilian establishment and countless endangerment causes. I'll make you a deal, if you hand the Leonardos over, then we'll let you go."

Trinity held Cara tighter as Dominic moved Allie behind him. The Professor glowered at Creed. "That, will never happen Mr. Creed."

Creed frowned at the mutants and felt fear pulse through him as he gazed at the girl's black eyes. He felt the nauseating fear of those eyes strangle his insides as his heart thundered. "Fire!" He ordered; he just wanted those eyes to stop staring at him…it was like they pierced his soul.

Laser pellets flew through the air. Trinity screamed as she turned to block Cara from the bullets. Dom watched as the red lasers flew toward them—but the bullets didn't make it. There was a pink orb around the children and the X-Men that was deflecting the lasers. Dom turned around to see Allies arms lifted over her head and small pink orbs surrounded her hands—Allie was a mutant—a mutant with the ability to project energy shields! When more lasers started hitting the pink force fields, Allie winced as she fell to her knees. Trinity puts Cara into Dom's arms as she bent over Allie. The girl was in pain. The X-Men realize this and leap into action. Cyclops fired at some agents as the shield fell, while Marvel lifted up her hand to send countless laser pellets into the walls. Nightcrawler teleported and fought some MRD's with Wolverine, as Storm and Sunfire destroyed went after the helicopter and trucks. One of the snipers threw down tear gas to help subdue the mutants and lifted his weapon to try to shoot the flying mutants.

Trinity helped Allie onto her feet and held her close as the fighting ensued. Tear gas suddenly exploded around them, blinding many of the X-Men, but Allie puts up another shield in a shape of a cube around her and her sister. They looked around for their brother and sister, but could only see smoke.

Dominic holds Cara as she pressed her face into her doll to keep from breathing the tear gas. Dom coughed as gas entered his lungs and continued to cough as his lungs were flexing inside of him, like they were pushing the gas out of his system.

Creed grabs a rifle as he pulls on his mask and shoots directly at the shield that held Allie and Trinity. Creed realizes the shots were futile, so he runs up and smashes the gun into the force field. Allie screamed as she fell to the ground holding her head. Trinity screamed as well and felt like she too, was experiencing the same pain. When she saw Creed, she covered Allie with her body. Creed wrenched Trinity up and something cold was pressed against her temple. Trinity opened her eyes and saw Wolverine was in front of her, claws extended, but he was frozen as he scrutinized Creed furiously. Trinity gasped when she saw her reflection in Wolverine's claws—Creed had a gun to her head.

The X-Men surrounded Creed as he shouts. "Back away! Now!" Trinity whimpered as he shoved the barrel harder into her temple. Wolverine sheathed his claws as the X-Men kept their distance. _No, please, don't let me die! _She prayed. _We were just rescued; don't let him kill me. _Creed began backing away, but Wolverine took a step to follow. Creed screams. "Do you think I won't kill it! I will if you all don't back off!"

Dominic held Cara tightly as he watched Creed drag his sister off; terror freezing him in place. Cara was crying silently; body wracking with sobs. Allie was biting her lip until she tasted blood; her eyes never left her sister's. Scotts had a hand to his visor as he fought against the instinct to shoot Creed—if he lasered him, then he risked the chance of killing Trinity. He peered at the Professor and Jean…why weren't they subdueing Creed telepathically? He saw their strained expressions…was Trinity's powers restraining them…or trying to? Storm and Sunfire were still in the air hovering, but didn't dare make a move to endanger the girl. Nightcrawler dug his nails into the ground as he remained still, except for his tail that was slowly swaying back and forth like a clock.

Logan frowns as he stops. "Listen bub, you pull that trigger on her—all hell will break loose. Put her down, and you will be a lucky man."

"How the hell does letting it go make me lucky!" Creed shrieked; his brown eyes darting around madly as his grip tightened. Trinity bit her lip to keep from sobbing. Why couldn't this night just end? She saw the Professor and Marvel staring at her…strange glowing energy framed their heads, but no one seemed to notice but her…Jean's matched her aura—the energy was magenta…and the Professor's was blue…the colors moved and seemed to try to connect to her and Creed…but something was stopping them.

"That you don't have me hunting you if you kill her." Wolverine answered and was about to take another step as Creed retreated. Graydon lifted the gun off Trinity in a fluid, quick motion and shot the man in the head. Wolverine's head snapped back as blood spurted from the wound, and he fell back…Allie screamed as Dominic covered Cara's eyes as he stared at Wolverine in horror.

Trinity's eyes were wide as tears ran down her face; her sobs silenced by her shock…Creed killed him…he killed the man who was trying to save her…Trinity shut her eyes as she felt the pain, shock, sadness, and rage flow through her. When she opened her eyes; the darkness seemed to glow. Creed was about to place the gun against her head, but he screamed and his hand jerked as his body collapsed to the ground. Trinity stood tall as the man withered behind her. She turned around and looked down at him as he seized in tremendous amounts of pain. The colors around him were like convulsing flames of torture…and she was making Creed feel all the pain she ever experienced. Creed continued screaming as she let her powers take over. Xavier's voice echoed in her head. _Trinity! Stop! You cannot let your powers control you—_

"He was going to kill us—he killed Wolverine!" Trinity choked—feeling like she was losing herself to the power.

_Trinity, Wolverine is alright, you must stop this before it's too late! Creed may deserve punishment for his actions—but no one deserves torture such as this—do not become a monster like him. Let go! _

Trinity trembled as she tried, but she couldn't. "I-I can't—"

_Then let me help you!_ Trinity felt something pushing on the inner walls of her psyche…she wasn't sure…was this presence her enemy or friend?

She felt someone touch her shoulder and she whirled around to face Jean. Jean held her face as she told the girl. "It's alright Trinity, just let us help you."

Trinity nods slowly as she let the force enter her mind. It was strange—like something was drawing the anger out of her and separating her powers from her. Soon, Creed stopped screaming. A few MRD agents and helicopter snipers limp off in terror while carrying the injured into a van that was still able to run and drove off; leaving behind the crashed helicopter.

Trinity fell to her knees as she felt that she was free of her powers. She held herself and shook as sweat and tears rolled down her skin. She sees the Professor roll up to her. Trinity looks up at him and whimpered. "Please…I need help…I need…help." A painful shiver goes through her as she gasped for air.

The Professor leans over and grasped her shoulder. "Don't worry Trinity, we will help you through this…you're safe with us." He looks over at Scott. "Cyclops, carry her to the car: quickly."

Scott goes over and picks up Trinity carefully. She continued to tremble uncontrollably as her dark eyes stared at the colors everywhere. As he was leaving for the car, Allie ran after him and Trinity. "Trin!" She cried while grasping her sister's hand. Trinity notices and holds her hand tightly for dear life. "Where are you taking her?" Allie cried as Storm knelt down beside the child and gently pried her fingers from Trinity's so Scott can take her to the car.

Trinity cried as they were separated. "Allie! Allie! No, we need stay together—Dom, Cara!"

She lashed out in alarm as Scott held her tighter and told her. "It's alright, they're going into the X-Van, and you'll see them at the Institute. They'll be safe with Ororo, Trinity."

"No…" Trinity whined as she reached out for her sister, who was being held back by Ororo. "I want to stay with them—please…" Scott continues walking and places Trinity into the car gently as she continued to keen. Jean and the Professor hurried after them. He made sure to tell his X-Men. "Sunfire, Storm, and Nightcrawler, watch after the children." He sees Wolverine was already waking up. Dom sees and jumps back in alarm as the mutant stood up and rubbed his head that only had dried blood on it. "Hurry Wolverine, I need you to get to the institute quickly to help Sean and Moira prepare the clinic. Are you alright?" He adds as Jean used her telekinesis to have him float in the air as his chair was placed into the trunk.

"Yeah Prof.," He muttered. "What about the kid?"

The Professor stays silent, and Wolverine nods quickly. "Alright," He runs over to his bike and tears off his mask as he speeds off.

Dominic puts Cara down as he takes a few steps toward the car. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder and he sees Storm shake her head sadly. "Come along little one, we must hurry."

Dom nods silently as he tears his eyes away from the car. He sees Allie standing next to Storm and crying, so he puts an arm around her shoulders and leads her away. Storm picks up little Cara, as the child stares at the car sadly and waves…wishing Trinity could see her.

Sunfire was already in the driver's seat of the dark van and was waiting for everyone to load. Storm steps into the van with Cara. Nightcrawler hops in behind her and turns around to give a hand to Dominic. Dominic stops and stared at the three-fingered talons anxiously, but finally takes the friendly mutant's hand as he and Allie were pulled in. The van was large with plenty of seats that lined the sides. Storm and Cara were already seated and buckled, and Dom's baby sister was leaning against Ororo in exhaustion as the kind woman placed an arm around her and hummed a lullaby.

Dom sits down and Allie sits beside him. Allie continued to cry as Dom held her hand; whispering to her that everything was going to ok. Nightcrawler was sitting on the floor watching them quietly, with a frown on his face. The van started moving and they stayed silent as they drove. Kurt suddenly moves over to a compartment and opens it; getting out three apples, he then moves back to sit in front of Allie. He shows her the apples and asks. "Do you like juggling, häschen?"

Allie sniffled and nodded. Kurt smiled and began juggling the fruit. Allie watched in amazement as Dom felt himself begin to forget about the day. One apple was thrown too high and bounced off the ceiling of the van, but when it came down Kurt used his tail to knock it back into the air and Allie caught it excitedly. She grinned happily as Kurt told her. "There you go, a snack for the road." He then tosses Dominic an apple. Dom caught it and mumbled gratefully. "Thanks." He sees that Allie was already eating the apple eagerly.

Kurt nods with a grin. ""Bitte schön." He then bites into his own apple; fangs cutting into it easily.

* * *

Trinity felt Jean's hands tighten around her own as the Professor's voice echoed inside her head: _Trinity, you'll be alright, you aren't the monster you think you are. _Sofie's and Creed's faces showed up in her mind's eye; causing her to sob even harder. She felt sick…she felt like she was dying…her tears were leaking out of her eyes so much that her head was in agony…she didn't remember or understood what was happening around her…

"Oh no, Professor, I think she's going into shock." Jean's voice rang out.

"I know Jean, but putting her into unconsciousness will cause more harm to her and make her go into her defensive mode."

Trinity's heart was racing as the colors swirled around her. She couldn't stop shivering or hyperventilating.

"Mami!" She screamed and thrashed. "Where are they? My sisters! Dom! Dad! Marisol! Sophie!"

The Professor quickly but gently placed his hands on Trinity's temples. _You must control your emotions; they are your power to control. Remain calm. Everyone, including you is safe. _

Trinity's screams soon died down into moans. "Please, it hurts so much…" Where was she? Why couldn't the pain stop…why were there so many colors?

"I know, don't worry we are almost there." The Professor was sweating from the exertion of helping Trinity and keeping her powers from controlling everyone in the car.

* * *

Scott finally pulled over and grabbed Trinity out of the car. She clung to him as mumbled incoherent words. Wolverine was leaning against his bike waiting and raced over as soon as Trinity was out of the car. "How's the kid?"

"She's in shock." Scott's voice answered tightly; a bad sign, nothing could bother Cyclops in the field.

They all heard the Professor shout. "Wolverine, you and Jean must run her to the clinic while Scott and I handle the others."

Wolverine felt alarmed as Scott reluctantly handed off Trinity. "Prof—she could set my berserker rage off with her powers." It was an animalistic rage so dangerous that it was deadly for anyone to be near him.

"Don't worry, Logan. Hurry!" the Professor yelled as he and Scott raced off to the front of the Institute.

"Uncle Leon?" Trinity groaned as Logan raced inside the mansion with Jean following him. The girl was freezing and sweating buckets. "I'm scared…"

"Hold on Trinity." Jean rushed passed Logan as they ran downstairs, and she threw open the clinic doors with her telekinesis.

Moira and Sean had already set up the bed as Logan placed the girl down on it. Sean wheeled the RBC and fluids over as Moira checked Trinity's pupils with a flashlight. Trinity instantly freaked out: "No! No you can't take them!" She screeched. Jean used her telekinesis to hold Trinity down.

"She's going through major mental disorientation, but I have no clue whether it's due to her head injury, her shock, or both." Moira's Scottish dialect shouted over Trinity's cries of alarm and pain. She gets out the needle and tubing. "Help me Jean. Boys, put her in a gown." Logan quickly slices off the clothing with a claw as Sean wraps the gown around her. Moira then strokes Trinity's arm and says: "Trinity dear, you have to remain calm. I'll be putting needles in ya to help you through the shock and pain, alright?" Trinity's black eyes were leaking tears but her head gave a small shake. The first needle went in:

"AHHH! Please stop!" Trinity imagined Creed stabbing her.

"She thinks a MRD agent is attacking her." Jean quickly holds Trinity's hand once more. "Trinity he's gone, he can't hurt you anymore. Listen to me, you are in the hospital, and your family is on the way. Everything's okay."

Trinity started calming down as the rest of the needles and tubes went into her arms, but she still cried until she fell into a restless sleep with the help of the Professor and Jeans' telepathy. Jean leaned against the wall and panted as Logan puts a caring hand on her shoulder. Sean takes a breath and runs a hand through his gold locks tiredly as he watches Moira examine the girl's injuries. Sean curses. "What the hell did they do to her?"

Moira looked at the burns with a tortured expression. "She was tasered repeatedly—please don't tell me the other children—"

"No," Jean answered. "The children are ok…Trinity was the only one caught by the MRD…"

Logan leaned against the wall next to Jean as he sheathed and unsheathed his claws. "Captain Creed was beating on the girl—she fought against him the entire time. Shoulda gone with my instincts and skewered the bastard."

Jean shook her head. "No, he would have used Trinity as a hostage—or worse, kill her if you charged in too soon…I wonder when Meg and her husband will be here…The Professor called them as soon as we had Allie and Dominic."

Moira sighed. "Poor Meg, she must be so worried." She then moves the hair out of Trinity's face. "Poor Trinitia,"

Jean moves away from the wall and grasped the sleeping girl's hand as thin fingers wrapped around her own slowly.

* * *

The van soon stopped, and Sunfire puts the vehicle into park. He then gets out of the car and opens the side door for the children. He helps Allie down as Dom jumps out and looks around. They were in a large garage with a bunch of other cars, but he didn't see the car that took Trinity away. Sunfire sees his expression and tells him. "Do not worry, they are here." He takes off his mask to reveal a kind, yet stern face.

Dominic blinks as he tried to stay awake. "Thanks…Sunfire."

"No need to boy, and my name is Shiro Yashido." Sunfire tells him as he takes a sleeping Cara from Ororo. Dominic takes his sister from Shiro. Ororo was about to carry the girl for Dominic, but the boy shook his head. When Ororo was about to argue, Shiro answers. "Let him be Ororo, he needs to carry her." He gives Dominic a grave nod and understanding and Dominic nodded back; grateful. Ororo understood and went over to hold Allie's hand. "Come along, I'll take you to our guest rooms, so you can rest."

Kurt suddenly hops out of the car and disappears in a puff of smoke. Allie exclaims. "Where's he going?"

Storm bit her lip as she heard the Professor telling her about Trinity and Mr. and Mrs. Leonardo coming over inside her mind. "Kurt went to go check on Trinity—"

"Can we see her!" Allie begged.

Ororo leads the children into the mansion as she explains. "I'm sorry little one, she needs her rest."

Allie's face fell as she nodded in understanding.

Dominic felt worried as he shifted Cara into another position that made it easier for him to hold her. "Is she going to be alright?"

Storm gazes at the anxious boy carrying his little sister, as his other sister stared at her in desperation. "Yes, she'll be fine." She told them; hoping she was right.

Storm led the kids to a room on the east wing of the mansion. The room fortunately had two beds and was spacious enough for the children. Dominic goes over to the nearest bed and places Cara down on it. The girl's dark hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks from dry tears as she kept sleeping. Allie crawled into the bed next to her sister and drapes a thin arm over her as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Ororo peers at Dominic, who stood looking down at his sisters tiredly. She puts a hand on his shoulder. "If you need anything just get me, I'll be in the kitchen. Do you remember where it is?"

Dominic muttered. "Yeah,"

Storm pats his shoulder; wishing she could do more for the boy. "Goodnight little one."

Dominic doesn't move as he called. "Ororo?" Storm stops at the doorway. "Thank you…thank you all for helping us…and rescuing me and them." He tells her.

Ororo smiled. "It's what we do Dominic."

"X-Men?"

"Yes," Storm tells him as she leaves.

Dominic sighed as he slowly got into the empty bed, and as soon as his head hit the pillow he fell asleep.

* * *

**Brother: "Trinity! Poor Trin. How could you put her through so much torture!"**

**Author pouts. "I sorry. But you have to admit a lot of the X-Men had rough beginnings. Don't worrys, she'll hav a happy ending."**

**"In death!"**

**"Shut up! You thought the story was great."**

**"Yeah, it is. Creed deserved what he got. Can't believe how powerful Trin is though. Really freaky that the Professor and Jean have a hard time controlling her."**

**"I know right?"**

**"Btw the energy around Jean and the Prof., care to explain?"**

**"Yep. In the comics, whenever a character uses telepathy a energy signature surrounds the character's head to show it. So, I decided Trin could see that, since she can already see emotions."**

**"Ah mutations. Btw, is Cara a mutant?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Want to tell everyone her power?"**

**"Not yet."**

**"Spoil-sport."**

**"More like spoiler-alert."**

**"Whatevers, Allie is awesome with the fields. Also, what does 'häschen' mean?"**

**"Oh, I thought it would be cute if Nightcrawler gave Allie a pet name. It means bunny-rabbit! Idk, Allie is so cute and energetic like a bunny, I had to use it. Btw, sorry about some of the German, I don't know a lot and my keyboard is messed up."**

**"They'll never forgive you my sister."**

**"Quiet you. Next chappie: The night is far from over as the Leonardo parents race to the institute and Trinity continues her stay in the clinic, and we will meet more X-Students/Men."**

**"We don't own Marvel-or x-men. Just the Leonardos."**

**"A speacial thank you to all who reviewed; we're really happy that you're enjoying this story and thank you for the great comments! Please r&r and thanks again!"**


	7. Chapter 6: Long Nights

In the corner a puff of black and violet smoke emits with a "BAMF". Kurt walks up cautiously as he stared at Trinity sadly. "The Professor sent me to check on her while he talks to the children's parents."

"Meg's already here?" Sean's Irish dialect echoed through the room.

"Nein, Hank is driving her and Mr. Leonardo from Salem center as we speak." Nightcrawler tells them.

"Bless Hank," Moira muttered, remembering her past x-student. She checked Trinity's vitals, shocked that she had just gotten back from her demonstration of mutations in the exact city that the children lived in only a couple weeks ago. She remembered young Dominic and all the questions he asked her about mutations and prayed that the boy and his sisters didn't receive any harm that would mentally scar them.

Kurt walked up to Trinity's other side and touched her hand. "I can't believe they tortured her, we should have—" He stopped when he felt Trinity grasp his hand back.

Trinity quickly grasped the friendly hand; not caring about the strange shape and texture of only three fingers covered in velvety fur as she slept. Through her sleep, it was an anchor she needed to stay sane. Everyone in the room stared in amazement as Trinity's heart rate slowed down. Moira quickly checked Trinity's vitals again and looks at her boyfriend, Sean, in astonishment.

Sean smiled back at Moira and said: "It looks like we found our sedative."

Kurt's tail swished in confusion: "Vas?"

Jean was smiling tiredly and answered: "Kurt, your aura, you, are making Trinity feel safe. Please, can you stay with her tonight?"

"Are you sure Jean?" Kurt looked between Jean and the girl on the hospital bed.

"Yes, her mind and emotions are at rest with you around." Jean lets go of Trinity's hand with difficulty, since the girl had such a tight grip.

"Looks like Kurt ain't the only one the kid needs Jeanie." Logan's husky voice intoned beside Jean.

Jean looked over at Moira who says: "I could use your help Jean."

She nods in agreement. "Yes, the Professor just told me I should stay to watch over Trinity's psyche."

"I'll get you all some coffee." Sean kisses Moira's cheek before leaving. Logan brushes passed Jean slowly and smiles at her blush as he follows Sean out.

Jean looks up Kurt and Moira who raise their eyebrows. "You didn't see that." Jean mutters.

Kurt impishly grins and answers. "We never do Herr Jean."

* * *

Ororo walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Betsy chatting with Forge. Forge sees Ororo and he scoots a chair out for her. "How was the mission? I just got up here when the Professor called Xi'an."

Betsy sniffed sarcastically; her British dialect playful. "They were busy snogging on the jet's wing again when the Prof. interrupted them."

"Hey, you said you weren't going to tell!"

"Sorry, it was too tempting." Betsy suddenly notices Storm had remained silent. "What happened?" Her blue eyes narrowed anxiously.

Ororo told them how the mission went and the two of them stayed silent. Betsy was tugging on her purple hair (natural color) as Forge picked at the metal of his prosthetic arm. Ororo watched them patiently.

Forge stood up with a groan. "Damn."

Betsy resisted the urge to read what Forge was thinking of. Even though she was a trained telepath and new X-Man, she still had trouble not invading people's thoughts—seeing her last institution taught her that powers should be exercised no matter how invasive it was. She thought about the kids; "damn" was right. Damn MRD, damn Brotherhood, and damn fate. "Poor girl…" She muttered. "How's the Prof. handling it?"

Ororo shook her head. "It was a hard blow for all of us to see the little ones suffer…"

Forge snorted. "Yeah, I thought Kurt's experience was bad—"

"It was." Betsy argued.

"I know. It must've been hell for the kid; I never thought it would happen again…" He frowned. "Hmph…a stupid thought huh?"

"No, just hopeful." Storm answered as she leaned back in the chair. "They're here now…and safe…that's what matters."

* * *

Meg felt like she was going to jump out of the car and run into the mansion by herself when she saw the large, familiar building. Her husband Salvatore held her hand as she shook with anxiety; he however was sitting still and tall. She knew him too well though, she saw his dark brown eyes were barely blinking from the same fear and worry that was inside both of them. Their children, her babies, were chased like animals and she had to find this all out when the Professor telepathically called her. She hoped to take the kids and visit the mansion with Leon, Kendra, and Kenneth during the summer to introduce them to her old friends that she would sometimes call. Maybe even let the oldest two stay for a week to learn about their powers; if they had any. Now she found out the hard way, that just like her and her brother and sister; her daughters and son were mutants. Before Marisol died, her brother constantly tried to convince them that they should send their children to Xavier's to learn about the powers they could receive. The sisters refused, wanting to have their children stay with them. Marisol would take her twins, Kendra and Kenneth, to visit their father John Proudstarr, but Meg never went back. She looked over at her friend Hank, whose grey-blue eyes widened at the old mansion. "Ah, the nostalgia will never wear off." He sighed.

She saw how much he was worried too; Hank loved her and Marisol's kids like they were his own. That's why the kids called him "Uncle Hank" whenever he stopped by for a visit. She heard her ringtone for Leon go off for the 27th time, but ignored it once more. She wished Hank didn't tell him, it just made the accident too real for her and everyone else. She saw the Professor and Scott standing in front of the institute and felt herself pale at their expressions. Meg leaps out the car as it parks and stops in front of her old mentor. "Charles—"

"They are all safe Meg," the Professor gently takes her hands.

Meg looked at Scoot, whose jaw was clenched.

"What happened?!" Salvatore asked in a frightened voice as he held his wife's shoulders, but she felt no comfort.

The Professor motioned them inside. Before they realized it they were in Professor Xavier's study. A plump, young Vietnamese woman walked over with steaming cups of coffee and handed one to Salvatore. Noticing her old friend, Meg embraced her:

"Xi'an," she cried.

Xi'an hugged her friend and whispered: "It's okay Meg, the children are alright. It's good to see you cherie." Xi'an broke the embrace and gave Meg her coffee before taking Hank by the arm and leading him outside to explain what happened, so they could call Leon. The Professor motioned them to sit, which they did. "I am sorry to say that your children were not only hunted by the MRD tonight, but also Magneto's brotherhood tried to kidnap Dominic to join their ranks. We luckily arrived just in time to rescue them." The Professor was talking to Salvatore and didn't look Meg's way. Gripping her cup of coffee she asked: "Who?"

The Professor looked at her despondently. "The youngest are all fine, but Trinity… she went into shock from her powers."

Meg jumped and almost ran out of the room, but Scott caught her and gently held her as the Professor called out: "Meg!"

"I need to see her," Every fiber of her being screaming to see her daughter. "I need to heal her now Professor, she needs me!"

The Professor wheeled up to her and took her hand in his. "She's stabilized Meg, she's going to be fine. Trust me."

Salvatore took Meg away from Scott as Meg sobbed into his chest: "I shouldn't have left," she cried as everything seemed to hit her. "I should have stayed with them. God, Trinity must be so scared, Salvatore she can't handle being in a hospital or clinic. My baby…"

Salvatore hugged Meg and rubbed her back to calm her down. He felt as if he was in a middle of a warzone within his mind and looked around the room for something to distract him from the cruel reality. He focused on the Professor and asked in a dead voice: "What happened?"

The Professor sighed, knowing that telling them everything would tear them apart. He finally told them about what happened in the mall all the way up to Trinity stabilizing from her shock. When he had to tell them of her abuse by Creed, Salvatore sat down in the chair and placed his head in his hands. When the Professor told them about Creed being emotionally subdued by Trinity, both parents looked at each other in shock.

"Trinity…she…did that?" Meg finally asked as Charles nodded. Meg covered her mouth to collect herself…and manage to say. "Charles…I think it's time to register Trinity into your school…" Salvatore takes his wife's hand supportively. "I can't protect her anymore…I can't teach her like you can…please…"

The Professor sighs. "I wish it didn't have to be this way Meg."

"Neither do I…" Meg stared at him intensely. "You have to promise me to take care of her here. Don't let anyone hurt her Charles, if she gets hurt again, I swear to God—"

"Meg." Salvatore tried to calm her. "He will take care of her." He then gave the professor a glare and commanded. "You will."

Charles watched them thoughtfully. "I will." He then folded his hands together; knowing that the next topic wasn't going to be easy. "Trinity's powers of telepathy will take a while to control…"

"How long?" Meg begged for an answer.

Charles closed his eyes. "I'm not sure; every student is different. Also, Trinity's trauma will be a paramount factor to whether or not she can learn to use her powers…"

"How long Professor?" Salvatore asked.

"A year at least…if not more…it will not be safe to send her home in her state. Not just for your sakes, but her's…I'm sorry…but Alicia and Dominic will need to stay as well, but I'm sure they will learn to control their abilities at a faster rate. Cara as well, but her powers have not developed as much…"

Meg and Salvatore blinked in surprise. "What powers?"

Charles raised his brows. "Cara is a prophet of sort; she has dreams of the future. Sometimes when she is awake she receives visions of what will occur."

Salvatore scoffed. "My bambina can do that?"

Charles unclasped his hands. "Yes, and I think for the best if you sent her—"

"No." Meg rasped. "I can't send her here at this age, and you said that her powers aren't fully developed."

"Meg, you have to consider that being here could help her—"

"No, Charles, just give her a year with her—she's just a baby…" Meg looked down at her hands. "Please."

"Meg, what about the MRD?" Scott broke his silence to argue. "They won't leave you alone."

"She'll be safe with my in-laws." Meg answered.

"Meg—" Scott started, but Salvatore interrupts:

"Hey, do you have kids?"

"No."

"Then mind your own damn business." Salvatore rumbled.

Scott's visor flashed a bit as he stopped talking.

Meg sighed. "Sal—don't…"

Salvatore clenched his jaw. "This is about our children—our children's future—he has no right—"

"I know, but if weren't for him…you know what would have happened."

Salvatore closed his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry, just…can't believe this is happening…"

Professor Xavier had brought out some paperwork, and slides it over to them. "It's your choice; we only want to help them."

Meg and Salvatore stare at the papers and then at each other. Finally, Salvatore grabs with the pen and started signing.

* * *

Betsy nodded as Forge sat on a counter to examine his metal leg. He lifted his metal arm and it machanically transforms into a drill as he tightened the screws of his leg. Both prosthetics were his creation; he had the amazing ability to invent anything; like laser guns, invisible jets, hologram tech., etc. He finally asked. "You think we should call Leon?"

"He already knows…" Betsy could hear Scott's thoughts as well as Xi'an's. "Xi'an is talking to someone named 'Hank'…"

"He's here?" Ororo asked in surprise; remembering her old friend.

"Yes, and the children's parents are here as well." Betsy answered as she concentrated. "Xi'an and Hank are calling Leon to let him know what happened…Hmm, this Hank has a smart mind…" She suddenly frowned as she heard new thoughts from Bobby and Lorna. "Ugh, Bobby snuck into Lorna's room again. Boy needs to stop sneaking around at night and study for school."

Forge chuckled. "Can't say I blame him; I remember always sneaking into Xi'an's room."

Betsy sneered. "I'm glad I'm done with my teenage hormones—now I can move onto real men instead of boys." She was happy to be in her twenties instead of her annoying teens. "Problem is finding a man that isn't taken."

"What about Logan?" Forge grinned as he threw his thin body off the counter and onto his feet.

"Ew, I am not a fan of hairy men." Betsy wrinkled her nose.

Ororo doesn't say anything; she never understood why dating was so important…never really had a boyfriend and didn't need one. She suddenly hears the pitter-patter of little feet down the hall.

Betsy raised her eyebrows. "Cara's out of bed." Storm was about to go after her, but Betsy shook her head. "Don't worry, she's just going to find her mum and dad."

* * *

As soon as they signed the last of the papers, they heard a small voice coo:

"Daddy? Mama?"

The parents turn to see Cara standing in the doorway in her dirty dress, and blue eyes red and puffy. Salvatore knocked over his chair as he rushed over and picked his daughter into a hug. Meg joined him and held her youngest daughter tightly. "Oh Cara."

The little girl embraced them both. "I knew you'd come!"

Meg shut her eyes as she held her baby. "Always," She whispered as Salvatore stroked Cara's hair.

* * *

Trinity woke up and realized her arms were tied down to a hospital bed. She started hyperventilating as she pulled at the straps. She couldn't tell where she was…did the MRD catch her? What about her sisters and Dominic! She struggled against the straps as she glanced about the empty, white room madly. _Got to get out, got to find them!_

Someone walked into the room. Trinity stopped when she saw a rugged-looking man walk in and sit down next to her. He wore a leather jacket and was finishing off a bottle of beer. He watched her with dark blue eyes and asked. "How you feeling kid?" Everyone was taking a short nap to regain their strength and clean up, since Trinity was said to be stabilized and ok to be left alone. They still sent Logan to check on her though; just in case.

Trinity glared at him; who was he? "Where are they?" She rasped.

"They're alright." He answered; knowing the girl was referring to her siblings.

"Then let me see them." She growled.

The man raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to get mad kid; you're safe."

"The MRD station is not a safe place." She spat as she managed to slip her right hand out of a strap which was hidden from the man by a blanket.

The man blinked. "Hmph, that shock did a real number on ya'. You're not at the MRD." He noticed she was getting out of her straps and gently held her down. "Hey, you need to stay put kid—"

Trinity screamed as she thrashed to get away—she suddenly sees a needle on the table next to her and grabbed it. She jabbed the needle into the man's arm. He was the enemy—she needed to get out. Trinity leapt away from him and ran toward the door. The man grabbed her from behind and she screamed louder while trying to gouge him with her nails.

"Kid! Stop it before ya hurt yourself!" The man snarled.

Trinity screamed and tried to fight against the MRD agent. Some more people rushed into the room. One woman in a lab coat took her from the man and Trinity pushed away from her and ran into the hallway. She kept running until purple smoke surrounded her. She saw the blue-man from before…why did she remember him…wait…X-Men…Kurt was a X-Man…she wasn't at the MRD station…Trinity stumbled over to wall in relief. Kurt helped her up and carried her back to the hospital wing as she mumbled. "I don't understand…the MRD had me…Creed was there…where am I? Where's my family?"

Kurt hands her over to Moira, who sets Trinity back onto the bed. Moira tells her. "Trinity do you remember me?"

Trinity glowered at the women. "No…you sound familiar though."

Moira points to Logan. "What about him?"

"No." She hissed when Moira tried to strap her arms to the bed again. "Don't do that!"

Moira stops. "Ok, can you promise me that you won't hurt anyone if I don't strap you?"

Trinity looked around the room and focused on Kurt; why couldn't she see the colors? "I promise…What did you do to me?"

Moira explains. "Professor Xavier is telepathically separating you from your powers, so you can calm down. The shock has caused you to be disoriented, so you won't recognize us, but we have met."

Trinity peers at Kurt. "I remember Kurt."

Moira smiles encouragingly. "That's good."

Kurt smirked. "It's a little hard to forget me, liebchen." Trinity peered at him and was happy he was there; he made feel safer.

Trinity sees Jean enter. "That's Jean!" She felt relieved that she was beginning to remember the people around her. She then gasped as she looked at Logan. "You—I thought you died."

A corner of his mouth curls up in amusement. "Takes a lot more to take me down kid."

Trinity started shivering. "I'm sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know—"

Everyone froze as her eyes went black. Jean rushes over and places her fingertips on her temples. "Shh, it's alright, it's okay Trinity."

Trinity convulsed once as Jean tried to calm her down and Jean gritted her teeth; Trinity's powers were a match for even the Professor's—no one could break from his mental grasps, but Trinity did and she was now having trouble working with the Professor to calm her.

Trinity hyperventilated as the colors exploded around the people in the room, soon she saw more colors passed floors and walls—like little candles of auras. Trinity didn't understand. "It's happening again!" She closed her eyes, but she still saw the colors. Trinity covered her eyes and let her nails sink into her skin.

"No Trinity!" Jean used her telekinesis to remove Trinity's hands from her face before she clawed her skin. She forced her arms to her sides. "Logan—Sean!" Jean grunted as she tried to calm Trinity down. The two men hold Trinity's arms down as Jean continued her work. Soon Trinity didn't see the colors and felt calmer. She sighed as her body went limp. She closed her eyes as she retreated into sleep.

Jean wiped the sweat from her brow and gasped. "Her powers…act defensively…like mine…her psyche saw us as harmful when she was becoming emotionally distraught…that's why she stabbed Logan—she saw him as her enemy and her powers drove her to be hostile."

"Jean! Can we come in!" Meg's voice called out frantically.

Jean's eyes snapped open. "Meg? What're you doing down here?"

Meg suddenly runs into the room and stopped right before the bed. She stifled a sob as she slowly kneels beside her daughter and takes her hand. "I'm so sorry mija…"

Xi'an, Hank, and Salvatore walk in. Salvatore pushes passed Wolverine who rumbled hostilely, but the father could care less. He stood over his daughter and placed a hand on her cheek. Hank stood in the doorway and watched Trinity miserably and took off his glasses to clean them; trying to distract himself.

Xi'an tells the X-Men. "They wanted to see her…the Professor said it was alright…"

Wolverine snorts in annoyance. "Shoulda' checked with us—the last thing the kid needs is to be smothered—"

Salvatore's head snapped up as he glared at Logan. "We have a right to see our daughter."

Wolverine smelt the raw tension as well as the man's familiar scent, and narrowed his eyes. "Sure thing bub…" He hears Jean's voice in his head. _Don't upset him Logan._

"What? What else were you going to say?" Salvatore snapped angrily.

Meg glowered at her husband. "Stop it Sal."

He marched up to Wolverine as the mutant bristled. Yep, now he remembered it was a few years ago when a masked S.H.I.E.L.D. agent tried to bring him into custody; ironic that the same guy was standing in front of him again. "Step off bub, you don't want a fight with me. And I sure as hell don't want a tussle with Fury's foot soldier."

Salvatore glared down at him. "I know who you are Wolverine, and I know you're too dangerous to be around her. Especially with that berserker rage. So get out of here and away from my daughter."

Wolverine bared his teeth. "Why so mad bub, feeling guilty for not being there? Too busy watching me for S.H.I.E.L.D to check up on your own kids?" Logan knew the type of guy Salvatore was, and despised anyone who took orders from Nick Fury.

Salvatore's eyes flashed as he clenched his fists.

Logan let out his claws as a warning, "Go ahead Sallie, but we both know I'm gonna win again."

Before he could do anything, a burst of sulfur smoke erupted between them as Nightcrawler separated them. "I suggest we take a break, ja? Before someone loses an eye or limb?"

Salvatore stared at Wolverine darkly as the X-Man retracted his claws reluctantly and strolled out of the room. "Sure thing elf,"

Meg rumbled. "I cannot believe how you're acting!"

Salvatore glanced at her and then the ground. "Really?"

"Yes! Logan and everyone saved our daughter and you're—you're—" Meg couldn't finish, but Sean intervenes.

"Oi boyo," He hands Salvatore a flask. "Have a drink."

Salvatore took the flask and takes a swig. He doesn't cough or wheeze as the strong drink burned his throat. "Thank you." He then takes a closer look at Sean. "Were you a part of Scotland Yard?" He could always tell who was an action-man…uncanny ability of his that he picked up in S.H.I.E.L.D.

"No, Interpol." Sean told him.

Salvatore nods. "Had a friend named Magrite Devreaux there, you know her?"

Sean smirked. "Yeah, Magrite and I partnered on a lot of cases together."

"Girl knew how to hold her liquor and shoot straight." Sal muttered while reminiscing fondly of his old friend.

"Still does," Sean agreed cheerfully. Moira sighed in relief; Sean always knew how to diffuse tension with his charm and good nature.

Salvatore went back over to his daughter. Meg was slowly healing Trinity; bright-green energy flowing from her hands and over the wounds on the girl's stomach. She exhaled tiredly as she finished; the burns gone leaving behind new, healthy skin. Soon, Trinity started waking up. She blinked her eyes open. "Dad! Mami!" she whispered. Jean knew the family needed a moment and ushered people out of the room quietly.

"Shh, it's us mija." Meg told her and she held her face.

Trinity slowly smiled, but her face fell. "Mami—I couldn't shake them off—I'm sorry for leaving the house—"

"No." Meg told her daughter. "Don't apologize baby—it's not your fault. Don't ever think it is."

Trinity's face crumpled. "You don't know what happened…"

Her dad took her hands in his. "We do—Trinitia, it's okay. We still love you no matter what."

"Even after what I did to the MRD—the mall—"

"Doesn't matter—it's in the past." Salvatore told her gently.

Trinity beamed in relief as she sat up and wrapped her arms around her dad. "Dad! I missed you."

Salvatore hugged her. "I missed you too."

Meg wrapped her arms around both of them. She gulps a breath and separates. "Trinitia…your father and I have something to tell you."

Trinity stared at them nervously. "What is it?"

Meg bit her lip and then told her. "Mija…your powers…you need to learn how to control them—" She couldn't tell her, and Sal took over:

"You need to stay here at the Institute bambi…" He watched as his daughter's eyes widen in astonishment.

"But…I want to go home—with you!" Trinity lip trembled as she gasped; not being able to summon tears due to dehydration.

Meg held her shoulders. "I know, but you need to learn how to control your powers…Dom and Allie are going to go here too. And they'll need you to watch out for them—to take care of them for me."

"What about Cara?" Trinity cried.

Salvatore tries to hold his daughter's hand, but she ripped it away. "What about Cara!"

Meg sighed. "We thought it was for the best if she waited to go to school for another year—"

"No! This isn't fair!" Trinity felt scared and hopeless. "Why can't I go home? Please, I promise I'll never use my powers again! Mami, I'll never leave the house again! Please…"

Meg felt the tears roll down her face as she embraced her daughter. "Trinitia, this is not a punishment—this is the only way to help you…I'm so sorry baby."

Trinity closed her eyes as her parents held her; wishing that they didn't have to.

* * *

Hank listens as Meg and Salvatore broke the news to Trinity. He sighed. _Whose life wasn't turned upside down by mutations?_ He thought. He stops thinking about the subject and said to Moira. "It's great to see you again Doctor."

Moira smiled at her student and embraced him. "You as well, Hank, how is your research going?"

Hank shrugged casually. "It's reaching the final stages; soon I'll be able to see if my hypothesis is true—but enough about me; how's the team?"

Sean grins. "Scott is still in charge; he's doing a great job leading."

"Some might think so…" Logan's voice answered. Everyone turns to see him leaning against the wall casually, but those who knew him well enough saw he was still tense.

Hank held out his hand to him. "How are you, Logan?"

Logan took Hank's hand firmly. "Better. Still having some anger management problems. Problem is people don't back off."

Kurt chuckles. "They should know better, ja?"

Wolverine smirked. "Ain't nothing wrong with not taking shit, elf."

"I won't argue with you that mein freund." Kurt tells him.

Hank turned his attention to Jean and smiled. Everything was so hectic that his thoughts were racing; he almost forgot she was there. "Xi'an told me the news; I believe congratulations are in order." He hugs Jean who grinned happily, while trying to conceal her engagement ring on her finger. "Scott is a lucky man."

Logan watches them quietly, and silently leaves. Kurt watches his friend, but stays. When Logan goes off on his own; you let him.

Xi'an notices and looked at her shoes in embarrassment as everyone ignored the uncomfortable moment. _Mon Dieu; I wish Forge would get down here. I hate moments like these. Poor Logan… I know Jean is Scott's girlfriend…fiancé…but it must be hard for him. I wonder if I should go back up to my secretary office, but I don't want to leave Meg down here._

Moira smiled and tried to cheer them up. "I'm so glad to see you two getting married."

She glances at Sean slyly and Sean sees this. He chewed his cheek and knew she was hinting again; Moira and he have been together for a while, but Sean Cassidy was dragging his feet to marry her. He loved her…but…well…He was still unsure of himself and procrastinating as usual, ever since he injured himself. He had the mutant ability to project sonic screams, and he strained his vocal chords…he can still talk, but he was given strict orders not to try to use his Banshee's scream: a potent yell that could throw and shatter objects as well as make him fly. Now, all he could do was project sonic waves by hitting objects with his hands, clapping, and whistling. Losing an ability was like losing the skip in your step.

The hall was quiet as they heard the rest of the Leonardo's conversation. _This is going to be a long night. _Sean thought as he placed an arm around his Moira as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

* * *

**Author. "Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing."**

**Brother nods. "Yeah, it brings a smile to my face."**

**"As you can see, Trinity is having a hard time with her powers-"**

**"A hard time? She stabbed Logan!"**

**"Hey, she thought he was the enemy."**

**"You know he's lucky he has a healing factor. Trin seems koo-koo."**

**"Mental disorientation does that to a person."**

**"Yeps. Btw, I was laughing when Sal and Logan were coming to blows."**

**"Well, Sal just found out his children were chased and his daughter went into shock...that would put anyone on edge."**

**"Also, really happy that Forge is awesome. He's one of my fav.s."**

**"And Xi'an."**

**"I like her too, and Betsy, aka Psylocke! Love that woman."**

**"Any ?'s?"**

**"Don't use "?" to replace the word "question"."**

**:(**

**"I didn't mean it, don't be sad."**

**:)**

**"Can you please talk; this is freaking me out."**

**:p**

**Brother sighes. "Well, as you can see Hank is back! You'll see more of him in the next chapter, as well as Leon."**

**"Please r&r! We don't own Marvel!"**


	8. Chapter 7: Moving Day

**Song to listen to as you read: Swedish House Mafia's Don't you Worry Child.**

* * *

Leon rubs the back of his neck tiredly as he hung up the phone. Meg finally called him back to let him know Trinity was stabilized and the other kids were safe too. He found out about what happened from Hank, and after a few agonizing hours he and Xi'an called him to let him know Trinity had gone into shock. A couple hours later Meg called in for a favor. Leon grabbed a cigar and let the orange energy surround it and it ignited into a flame and he was able to smoke it. "Ignite" that was his mutant name when he was a X-Man—he had the ability to cover objects he touched in a strange orange energy that could heat, combust, or electrocute the object. He could even absorb electricity or extinguish fire with the energy. He smoked until he stood up and walked out of his study and to his room. He finally felt sick from the cigar and chucked into the trash. His dark brown eyes appeared black in the darkness as he made his way to his room. He checked on his niece and nephew, who slept soundly and completely unaware of what had happened. He walked into his room and saw his wife Mansi was sitting up in bed sewing. Their daughter, Fleur, was sleeping soundly next to her mother.

Leon watched his wife fondly as she sewed the rips in Kenneth's soccer shorts. She had straight raven hair and high cheek bones—the features of the Proudstars. Mansi was actually a cousin to John and James; her mother being the sister of their father. Her skin was a brownish tan though, from the Arizona sun and her Mexican father she never knew. She grew up right outside the Reservation with her mother…became Meg's best friend when the Lafayette family moved from southern California to Arizona. After a couple years of befriending her and her cousins; he grew to love her and dated her until marriage. She was tough, strong, and loving. She was a fighter, a cook, and a great mother to little Fleur who just turned two. Even after child birth she was still hot and well-muscled. Mansi peers at him. "Did Hank call you back?" her light brown eyes stare at him with worry.

She knew all about Hank and the Institute—she actually used to drive up to Xavier's on her motorcycle and stay a couple weeks to visit her friends and her beau. She was human, but she didn't hate or fear mutants. "No, Meg did." He answered.

"Are the kids okay?" Mansi puts down her sewing as she gets up and stands in front of her husband. "Leon, tell me now; are they safe?"

"Yes…Trin went into shock, but they stabilized her…the kids are at the Institute and Meg is finally going to send them there…"

Mansi's eyes widen and she nods. "Okay…okay…"

Leon tells her the rest. "Meg asked me a favor…she wants me to come back to the institute to keep an eye on the kids…I agreed…I'm going to stay for a year there…I know I should've consulted you—"

"Leon, we were planning to send the twins this fall and stay with them right?"

He examines his wife and nods. "Yes."

"Yeah, so going in the summer doesn't change a thing—I just have to pack everything this week…we need to rent a trailer."

"Wait—slow down." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you trying to move there with me?"

"Well, yeah, you're not going without me. Besides, Moira and Xi'an had been telling me how much she could use a helping hand over there. I miss the Institute, and the twins will be there with Meg's kids—so why the hell leave me out of it?" Mansi placed her hands on her thin hips. "This is my family too Leon."

Leon grinned as he kissed her. "You are a special lady."

Mansi shook her head. "Hey, 'for better or for worse' right? Why else would I marry you for?"

"I thought it was for my rebellious strength and wit."

"Nope." Her smile faded. "We need to tell the twins."

Leon sighed. "Yeah, I'll wake them up—"

"And I'll fix up some hot chocolate." She shivers a bit. "Shit. Even in Texas it's cold." She goes over and picks up Fleur, whose tiny mouth yawns as she opened her dark brown eyes. "Pa?" She peers at her papa and smiled; forming dimples into her chubby cheeks. "Papa!"

Leon smiled as he takes Fleur into his arms. "Hey there princess."

Fleur tugs in her father's dark brown hair. "It night." She told him.

"How is it nighttime?" He quizzed her like he always did.

"No sunny!" She articulated.

He smiled as he handed her to Mansi. "She's great with talking."

"She gets it from her papa." Mansi smirked as she goes to the kitchen.

Leon walks into his nephew's room that was filled with trophies from football—both American and worldly. Leon snorted a laugh when he sees that Kenneth was growing out of his bed. The boy was growing fast—thick and tall like his dad. He looked just like John…Leon frowned as he remembered his childhood friend and fellow X-Man…John Proudstarr aka Thunderbird…died stopping a nuclear missile Count Nefaria was sending to kill thousands of innocents. John was quiet, stern, and strong…he was an Apache warrior…

Leon shook Kenneth's arm. "Hey Ken, wake up."

Kenneth stirred and blinked his large blue eyes. "Yeah… good morning tio." He yawned cheerfully making Leon smile. Even though Kenneth looked like John, he had the cheerful and sociable attitude of Marisol; the boy even had his mother's blue eyes.

"Go on to the kitchen Ken," Leon tells him.

Kenneth sat up and lifted his hand as a warm, golden glow emanated from it as the boy made his way through the dark hallway. Leon shook his head, the boy was terrified of the dark and would bring up his solar energy powers to light the way constantly.

Leon went into Kendra's room, which didn't have a single trophy, but plenty of drawings, paintings, and books. Kendra was small and thin, even for a fourteen year old. Her black wavy hair covered her face as usual while she slept. Kendra was an artistic intellect—reserved and quiet like her father, but the spitting image of her mother. Leon nudged her. "Kendra,"

She wakes up immediately; large lavender eyes snapping open. Leon remembered when those eyes were the same shade of Kenneth's, but for some reason, Kendra's mutation caused her eyes to steadily change into a shade of purple. She peers at her uncle. "What's wrong?"

Leon helps her out of bed. "I'll tell you once we get to the kitchen, estrellita."

She lifted her hand and created a cool silver orb of soft light as they walked out of the room. He leads her to the kitchen, where Kenneth was already sitting with his cup of hot chocolate. Fleur was sitting in her high chair and eating a little quesadia. Mansi places the hot chocolate in front of Kendra who stared at the cup and asked in her soft voice. "What happened?"

Mansi nods at Leon to speak and he looks at his niece and nephew. About three years ago, after Marisol died, he was given custody of the remarkable children and made it his duty to raise and protect them as his own…trying to make up for a past mistake of losing someone else he loved. He was always truthful with the twins, but now he didn't want to tell them about what happened to Trinity, Dom, Allie, and Cara. He finally told them. "Your cousins developed their mutant powers…Trinity's power manifested in school and in a mall where she telepathically subdued over a hundred people—including the X-Men. Dom and the girls were with her and they were chased by the Mutant Response Division…and the Brotherhood."

Kenneth and Kendra's eyes widen in fear—remembering how the Brotherhood had tried to kidnap them when they were only five years old; a memory that still haunted their nightmares.

"Are they okay?" Kenneth asked about his cousins anxiously.

Leon cleared his throat. "Trinity and the kids are safe at Xavier's…the X-Men saved them."

"What happened?" Kendra asked her eyes watering. "Did someone get hurt?"

Leon knew that Kendra was smart enough to see when Leon was hiding something. "Trinity went into shock…she was attacked by the MRD."

Kendra blinked and a tear escaped.

Kenneth's eyes widen. "No."

Leon reassured them. "She's stabilized now…she'll be alright." He pauses and tells them. "Listen, Trinity's powers are a lot like Jean's, so she'll be stuck at the Institute for a long time before she could go back home. Dom and Allie are also staying to learn how to control their powers. Your tia Meg asked me to come back to the Institute to keep an eye on them and I accepted. This means we are going to leave for the Institute a few months early and stay longer than we initially intended." He watches the twins. "What say you?"

Kenneth nods. "Yeah—we should totally stay."

"Kendra?" Mansi inquired. "What about you?"

Kendra was wiping her face. "Yes…Trin needs our help…and I miss the Institute…"

"Then why are you upset hon?" Mansi asked her.

Kendra glowers at her aunt. "They were chased... It took Trinity going into shock for tia Meg to realize that they needed to go to Xavier's…"

Leon sighed and sits beside his niece. "Kendra, it's not her fault."

"I know." She finally sniffed.

"I know this upsets you, but you got to be strong and help out your cousins. Show them the ropes of Xavier's and having powers." He explains to her.

Kenneth agrees. "We'd get to see auntie Ororo again—and the Professor—and Kurt—" He smiles. "We'll be able to stay at the Institute like the old days…"

Kendra began to smile with her brother. "That sounds nice."

Leon placed a hand on Kendra's shoulder for support as Mansi kissed Kenneth on the cheek. "That's my boy." She told her nephew as she picked up Fleur and went over to Kendra. "Alright, let's start packing."

* * *

**The next morning…**

Dominic woke up to someone shaking him and grumbled. "Get off Allie…"

"Wake up son." A deep, familiar voice told him.

Dom's eyes snapped open as he sat up quickly. He saw his dad was there—his dad was standing right in front of him. "Dad!" Dom scrabbled out of the bed and hugged his father.

Salvatore pats Dominic's back. "How're you holding up Dom?"

Dominic told his dad everything that happened in an excited rush. "Dad—I got this shock wave, indestructible power like Superman—and Allie makes these force fields like from that Pixar movie! And Trin put the entire Warren county mall to sleep!"

"I know son, the Professor told me about it. And Cyclops told me how you saved Ms. Munroe and took care of yourself and your sisters. I'm proud of you."

Dom grinned as he felt the pride sweep through him, but frowned. "Trin…she…"

"She's okay." Salvatore told him. "Your mother is with her right now, and your sisters are with your uncle Hank."

"Uncle Hank's here?" Dominic felt happier. His dad was back, Trin was okay, and his uncle was here too.

"Yeah, but I need to talk to you about something." Salvatore sits on the edge of the bed. "Sit down son, it's about your powers."

Dominic sits down and realized, before his dad even said anything, that he was now a new student at the Institute.

* * *

Meg sighed as she ate her breakfast with her daughters, Xi'an, Ororo, and Moira. She smiled at Xi'an. "You still make the best waffles Xi'an."

Xi'an smiles. "Merci. I try to help Moira with the cooking as much as possible."

Moira groaned. "Ach, don't remind me…I can't stand cooking…"

"But you always cooked the best soups." Meg told her; remembering the meals Moira made.

Moira smiled at her old student. "Thanks, but I just don't have time to cook and run the clinic. Besides, Xi'an enjoys it more."

"I enjoy making pastries and bread…besides I managed to destroy that pasta primavera…" Xi'an frowns.

"It was not so bad." Ororo told her as she held Cara, who was happily drinking some orange juice.

"Forge was throwing up all night." Xi'an pouted.

"Oh." The women said together nervously. Allie was about to take a bite of her hash browns, but then lowered her fork.

Moira peers at Meg and smiled. "So, how's work?"

Meg grinned. "Busy, I have you to thank for that."

Moira raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yeah, you're the one who inspired me to go to nursing school." Meg told her.

Moira shook her head, but couldn't help but feel proud. "I remember when you used to help me out in the lab with Hank."

"Yeah, I remember all the breaks you took with Sean." Meg joked and the women laughed, except for Ororo and the girls who looked at each other and shrugged.

Ororo spoke. "I'm glad that Leon and Mansi are coming back with the twins."

"And their new baby girl!" Xi'an adds excitedly. "I can't wait to see her!"

Cara nods. "She's really chatty, whenever I call Leon—she'll answer the phone and start telling me a bunch of gibberish for an hour."

"Sounds like Leon." Ororo teased and the women giggled together. Hank suddenly walks in with Scott.

The two men raise their eyebrows and Hank inquires jovially. "What are you ladies discussing?"

"Oh, nothing of importance." Ororo told them as Xi'an stifled a giggle.

"What were you guys talkin' about?" Allie asked the men saucily.

The men look at each other and back at the girl. "Nothin'." Scott adjust his ruby-quartz sunglasses as he hid a smile.

Meg chuckled at her daughter as Moira whispered to her. "Allie reminds me of ya'."

Meg looks back at her girl and realized how right Moira was.

* * *

Lorna stretched her arms for the millionth time. Bobby moves his arm off her shoulders and asked. "You still stiff?"

"Well you didn't let me stretch before our 'work out' last night." She teased while batting her dark green eyes.

"Ugh, can you please talk about this later. I'm still eating." Sofia complained with a scowl on her tan face.

Bobby laughs as he puts his arm back around his girlfriend. "Can you hurry?"

Sofia flicked her wrist and blast of wind messed up the couple's hair; causing Lorna's green curls to fall out of her pony tail. Bobby snickers. "Real mature Sofia."

Lorna smirked as she fixes her hair. "Aren't you the one who tries to use your powers responsibly?"

Sofia rolled her light brown eyes. "Yeah, sure, you're confusing me with your pacifist self again Lorna."

Lorna grinned superiorly. "I always have exceptions to pacifism."

Hernando suddenly walks into the dining room and sits next to Sofia. "Buenas dias mi Corazón." He greets with his charming smile. "You look lovely today—"

"Flirting again." Sofia sighed. "You've been hanging out with Bobby too much Hernando Reyes."

Hernando dramatically placed a hand on his chest where his heart was. "Senorita, you mortally wound me with your words."

Bobby shook his head. "Nope, he's been hanging around Kurt for too long."

"Hey I have to practice my charm, there's a new girl around our age that's going to attend Xavier's Institute with her sisters and brother." Hernando grinned as he took a large bite of bacon. "I actually met her sisters."

"Are they hot?" Bobby asked and Lorna elbows him. "Kidding."

Hernando responds. "They're her 'little' sisters; Cara and Allie."

"Aw," Sofia's Venezuelan accent cooed. "They sound cute."

"So who's this new student?" Lorna inquired curiously. "And why are we just finding out about this?"

"Because they came in last night." Rahne walks in and sits beside Hernando. She brushes her red bangs from her light green eyes as she tells them. "Me mum told me about it last night. They had to bring the girl to her clinic; she was hurt bad. Her name's Trinity and mum said we need to be real nice to her when we meet her tomorrow. She's actually Viva's daughter."

"I remember Scott telling us about Viva…didn't she marry and move to New Jersey?" Lorna wondered.

"Yeah, and their kids are going to be sent here, and Ignite—I mean Leon is coming here to teach. He's bringing the twins." Rahne explains.

"Great, I haven't seen them in a while." Bobby exclaimed.

Hernando asks Rahne. "So, did you get to see Trinity?"

Rahne glares at him. "No, you are not going to harass her."

Hernando beams cheerfully. "Don't worry Rahne, I might flirt with other girls, but you're the one I'm gonna marry."

Rahne blushes in embarrassment. "Not this again; yer daft!"

Hernando puts an arm around Rahne and answers. "It's the truth, amor mio*!" (*means "my love" in Spanish)

Rahne looks up at the ceiling. "God help me…"

"Leave her alone Hernando." Sofia chastised. "Besides, she's only fourteen—she's still a little girl."

"Yer not helpin'!" Rahne barked.

"Only a two years difference—what is in an age?" Hernando asked.

"Legal differences." Lorna answers.

"Where is everyone?" Sofia notices that not everyone was in the dining room.

Rahne answers. "The instructors are busy preparing for the new students and restin', and Sammy and Amara ate early this morning so they can hang out at the lake."

"And John?" Sofia asked.

Bobby shrugs. "Probably out still," He ices up his drink with his powers and sips it.

"The Professor is going to ground him again…" Hernando says, but stops when a napkin is stuck to his hand and he tries to wave it off.

"Well, when you stay out for nights on end and use your fire powers carelessly—" Lorna stops talking when everyone raised their eyebrows at her. "Oh come on, it's true."

"Yes, but we don't need responsibility lectures." Sofia tells her.

"Yeah, we get those from Scott." Hernando answers as he rips the napkin off his palm as it peeled off like Velcro. "Darn mutations." He then grins and grasped Rahne's hand in his own. Rahne tries to pull away from his hand, but it stuck to her palm like superglue. "Ugh! Get off spiderboy!"

"You know you love it." Hernando continues holding her hand as he eats happily. He stops when he sees a boy sitting at the end of the table. "Uh…hello."

Everyone turns in surprise to see a boy sitting at the table and eating oatmeal. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He hears Hernando and nods.

The X-Students look at each, but before they could say anything else to the boy, he leaves without a word.

"Who was that?" Lorna asked.

"I think it was one of the new students." Rahne answers.

"Well he acted like he's been here for years." Bobby observed.

Sofia smiles. "Well, I like him."

"You just met him and he didn't even say anything." Lorna argues.

"I wish someone else was that quiet." Rahne peers at Hernando. As everyone burst into laughter.

* * *

**One day later…**

Trinity slept in the hospital bed for a couple more nights and would wake up to see Kurt and Jean sleeping on spare gurneys and chairs next to her. She would feel guilty for them sleeping in the clinic to watch her, but was relieved to always see them near her. The next day, Moira let her up from the bed. "You've made a great recovery." She told her happily. Trinity felt weak on her legs, but was happy to be out of bed. She felt the lump in her throat…her parents and siblings drove back to New Jersey to pick up their clothes and other accessories for the move to the Institute. Today was the day her dad was going back to God-knows-where, uncle Hank had to go back to work in the city, and her mom was taking Cara home. Jean had brought Trinity a change of clothes, and everyone left her alone, so she could shower in the emergency shower and change.

When she leaves the clinic, her uncle Hank helped her over to the elevator. He had a large hand on her back and helped her make her unsteady journey to the first floor. When they made it up, she saw her parents and siblings were already outside.

Trinity stood with Dominic and Allie and watched as her parents unloaded the last of their clothes. Her mom goes over to Allie and embraced her. "I love you Alicia, you listen to your instructors, Dom, and Trin ok?"

"Yes Mama, I'll miss you." Allie hugged her back.

Their mom kisses Dom's forehead. "Be nice to your little sister? Keep an eye on her."

"Don't worry Mom, love you." Dom hugs his mom with one arm. Trinity sees her Dad pick up Allie and throw into the air before catching her and kissing her cheek. "Don't worry Allie, you'll love it here—especially with your cousins, aunt, and uncle coming to live with you. I'll call you every week to check on you."

"Promise?" Allie asked.

"Promise." Allie kisses her dad on the cheek as she tried not to look sad.

Dad puts her down and Cara runs up to her and hops into her arms and hugged her tightly. He puts an arm around Dom. "Take care son. You have to be the man of the family again. Watch out for your sisters. Can you do that for me?"

Dom nods. "Yes sir. I'm gonna miss you dad."

Dad gives Dom a quick squeeze of a hug. "I'm gonna miss you too."

Trinity smiled when Dom went over to Cara and picked her up to hug her. She frowned when her parents stood in front of her. Her mom kissed her cheek as she held her. "It'll be okay. I promise you this place will help you…and who knows, maybe you'll find a home here like I did."

"Love you Mami." She whispered as she hugged her back.

Her dad embraced her as well. "Watch out for your brother and sister? You're uncle and aunt will be here soon…so they can…help you out…"

"Ok." Trinity answered she pecks her dad's cheek. "Come for a visit?"

Mami nods. "Every weekend, I promise."

Trinity looks at her dad and he sighed. "I promise to call every week bambi…"

"Ok…"

"I know…we love you a lot bambi…"

"I know."

Her mother suddenly took off her locket; a gold heart charm that held a picture of the Leonardo and Lafayette family together three years ago. She puts it on Trinity. "Here, so you can always have us with you." Her mother kisses her forehead.

Cara suddenly raced over and hugged Trin's legs. Trinity knelt down and hugged her tightly.

"I'll miss you Trini." Cara told her.

Trinity held onto Cara and answered. "I'll miss you more Cara."

"How much?"

Trin smiled sadly; remembering the game of 'how much'. "I'll miss you—"

She stretched her arms out as far as she go. "This much and more."

"That's a lot!"

"Yeah."

"Don't be sad Trini…"

"I'm not sad." She lied.

Cara looked at her Bamf doll and gives it to Trinity. "Bamf will make you feel better—take care of him—he likes you a lot."

Trinity blinked as she took the doll—trying not to cry. "Th-thank you Cara."

Cara nods. "I'll miss you—" She holds out her arms. "Ten times this much! And I'll miss Dom and Allie that much too."

Trinity hugged her a second time and sees uncle Hank hugging Dom and Allie tightly as he told them. "Be sure to tell me about the ventures and exploits you have here…because every X-Student has at least one adventure of a lifetime."

Cara goes over to her mom as Hank goes over to Trinity. Trinity looked at her feet. "Uncle Hank…did this place become your home too?" She needed to know the truth.

Hank buries her into a bear hug. "Don't worry Trinity—you'll find your niche here…as well as some kindred spirits." She hugged him tighter and nodded—she was not going to cry.

Everyone got into the car and started to drive off. Allie ran beside the car for a few minutes, until she slowed and stopped. Cara was looking out the back window and waving. Dom waved back and Trin held her doll close. Soon, they couldn't see the car as it disappeared behind the trees and onto the road. Trinity goes over to Allie and grasps her hand and leads her to Dom. Dominic takes Allie's hand from Trinity; understanding Trin wanted to be alone. Trinity felt her eyes sting and she rushed off down a path. She stopped when she came to a grassy cliff. She edged closer and saw there was a lake beneath her. The sun was casting glittering plates of light upon the blue water. She stared at the lovely sight as she held the Bamf doll and tried not to cry. _New home…right…_She thought. _When will this place become a home? I hope soon…_ She opened the locket. The right side had a picture of her parents, tia Marisol and her twins, Leon's and his pregnant wife, and her siblings and her. Trinity stares at the picture longingly; wishing to be brought back to that time…She finally closes the locket. Trinity walks away from the edge and back toward the mansion.

* * *

**"Tada! The Leonardos are officially moved in! With Leon and his family on the way." Author cheers**

**"You probably confused our readers with starting off with Leon and his family." Brother tells her.**

**"I bet they liked it. The Lafayettes are our oc.s we created. If you guys are confused about the dynamic, it's basically this: Leon married Mansi, who's cousins with the Proudstarrs. And Marisol, Leon's sister, married John Proudstarr. When Marisol and John passed away they left custody of their twins to Leon and Mansi, who just had a baby named Fleur. Meg is Leon's younger sister and Marisol's older sister. Just a fyi."**

**"I'm confused."**

**"Deal with it! If anyone has any questions: pm me."**

**"Yep, this chapter made me laugh with Bobby and our oc Hernando Reyes. Hernando is awesome and has a mutation on his hands and feet that makes them stick to any suface...don't you people compare him to spiderman!"**

**"Too late."**

**"Wait...you called him 'Spiderboy'! We both know his mutant name is Grip."**

**"I liked writing the chapter...really bittersweet to me. And if I had to place a song with it(which I did) it would be Swedish House Mafia's Don't you Worry Child."**

**"Amazing song. Btw, way to make a depressing ending paragraph."**

**"Hey, it wasn't that sad."**

**"I thought you were going to cry."**

**"No...it's allergies...I swears."**

**"Liar."**

**"We don't own Marvel. Thanks for r&r! And fyi, reviews are always welcome and deeply appreciated!"**


	9. Chapter 8: Mystique

Mystique—aka Raven Darkholme—opened her gold eyes when the teleportation was complete. She peers at Tele-girl…who was on her knees in exhaustion from teleporting the Brotherhood back to base; her red hair plaster to her face and light-blue skin looking a bit pale. Tele-girl peers up at her with heavy-lidded eyes. "How'd I do ma?"

Mystique didn't help her daughter up or coddle—she was a leader in front of her men, not a parent. "You did well Tele-girl." She leaves her team without hesitation. Quicksilver zipped up to her. "Magneto wishes to speak to you about your failure."

Mystique resisted the urge to strike him. "Very well."

Quicksilver took off his helmet revealing a young, thin face with sharp green eyes and wind-swept white hair. He then races to stand in front of her. "You managed to lose two recruits in one night and that's your answer—ah!" He dodges Mystiques hand which tried to claw his throat.

"You were there as well Quicksilver—and you better watch your mouth. I don't care if Magneto is your father, you will not speak to me like I'm your subordinate or I will not hesitate to pummel you into your place." She hissed as she marched away. Quicksilver glared at Mystique before racing away.

Raven Darkholme walks into the corridor quickly. She didn't let anyone stop her—until she heard a southern twang call. "Mama!"

Raven stops and turns to her adopted daughter Rogue, aka Ana Marie, and made sure that no one was around so she could call her by her name instead of her title. "Ana."

Rogue races up to her with a worried expression in her green eyes, while pushing her two white streaks of hair from her pale face. "Destiny told me how you were on a mission; you okay?"

Mystique finally answers. "It was not a success, and I need to debrief Magneto on what happened. I'll be back in a moment Ana. Go check on your sister Edith." Mystique sighed in frustration as she headed toward Magneto's quarters. She stopped in front of the metal doors as she transformed her brown wear into a pristine white dress with a long skirt with plenty of slits to show off her skin. She also changed her boots to be scandalous white stilettos. She always made sure she looked attractive when she met with Magneto privately, so she could always have some kind of leverage against him. She called. "Magneto, it's Mystique."

The doors open on their own and she walks through. She sees Magneto had his back to her as he was watching the news on the TV. Mystique saw the news was on the bookstore that burst into flames…in the same area that they were tracking the children.

Magneto lifts a hand and the remote levitates off his desk and flies into his hand: magnetic waves shimmering around the metal object. He turns off the TV. "You need to control your team Mystique." He didn't turn around as he said this; his voice strict and harsh.

She argues with him. "I did not order that strike—I didn't even realize he was there—"

"Precisely." Magneto turns around to scrutinize Raven with dark green eyes. "You being unable to control one member is disappointing."

She bites the inside of her cheek angrily. "Perhaps we should take him off his mission to infiltrate the Institute, since he cannot handle it—"

"No. He will precede with his mission as I commanded." Magneto walks up to her. "Raven, I sent you recruit Dominic and Alicia Leonardo, did I not?"

"Yes sir." She answered while watching him balefully.

"I sent you because I believed that you would be able to complete the mission. Apparently I was wrong."

"The X-Men intervened—"

"They always do—so you should have been ready for them!"

"Trinitia Leonardo's powers materialized—knocking me and my entire team out—"

"What." Magneto's eyes flashed. "She's still alive?"

Mystique realized her mistake. "Yes…I was not able to get a clear shot—"

"You were in the same room as her and you failed to take that opportunity—do you have any idea how dangerous Trinitia Leonardo is—you know of Destiny's prophesy!"

She clenched her fists—yeah she knew what Trinitia Leonardo was capable of—the rage of Wolverine with the telepathic strength of the Professor—destined to destroy hundreds of mutants with her power. "I will not underestimate her next time, Magneto."

"No, you will not." His helmet lifts off the desk and smoothly lands on his head. The Master of Magnetism leaves her as his black and purple cape billows behind him.

Raven goes to her quarters and finds Destiny waiting for her. She was typing on her brail key board as the screen reader read aloud:

**The hero Ironman will side with Registration after the disaster of Nitro—**

Her gold hair was tied back from her pale blue eyes. "Raven." She greets as she stopped typing, saved her work, and closed the laptop.

Mystique wraps her arms around Destiny; one of the rare moments she shows gentle intimacy. "Irene."

Irene/Destiny touches Raven's face from behind. "How did our girl do?"

Mystique smiled as she thought about their daughter Edith. "She teleported all of us to safety. She's getting stronger."

"Of course she is—she's like her mother." Irene tells her.

Mystique grins. "She's a lot like her other mother too."

Irene turns to her and says. "The mission did not go so well?"

She frowns. "Saw that didn't you?"

"I am a blind prophet after all love,"

"Hmm…so you keep telling me…how bad is it going to get?"

"I don't know—you not killing Trinitia Leonardo hasn't given me any new visions for the future."

Mystique sighed. "Alright. I'll be back—I'm going to check on Tele-girl."

"Raven, could you talk to Gambit?"

Raven stops at the door; remembering the Cajun mutant they just recruited into the Brotherhood. "Why?"

"I had a vision of him and Ana…I don't like how close he's getting to her."

Raven felt the flash of maternal possession and answers. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him to keep his distance."

She leaves to go to Ana and Ediths' room. She sees someone peeking through the little hole in their beaten door. Toad was squatted in his usual crouch with his webbed hands on the door as he peered into the room with his glassy, bulbous eyes. He chuckled; unaware of the raging mother behind him. Raven scowled in disgust as she grabbed Toad by his brown dreadlocks and flung into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the plaster. Toad cursed. "Shit!" His greenish skin turning white when he sees Mystique. "Ah! Mystique mum—I was tryin' ta fix the door—"

She grabs Toad by the scruff and snarled. "I should break your arm you slime."

He grimaced; showing large gums and yellowed teeth. His long tongues wriggles like a worm as he begs. "Please mum—I didn't mean anything by it—your girls are just so beautiful—you should take it as a compliment—"

Mystique throws against the wall as she yells at him. "If I ever catch you near this door again—I will throw your hide out the window!"

Toad gets up and hops away fearfully. She walks up to the door and hears Ana laugh. "I think that'll be the last time Toad peeps on us, Edie!"

Edith snickers. "Thank God!"

Raven knocks. "Come in Mama." Ana tells her.

She walks in and sees Edith was in her bed and Ana was sitting on the edge of it. Mystique smiles at her girls as she stands over Edith. "How're you feeling?"

Edie runs a hand through her red hair. "Better—I'm glad I didn't pass out while 'portin."

Raven shook her head. "Don't worry—you won't. You're stronger than most of the mutants here."

"Is Mom still typing?" Edith asked; referring to Destiny.

"Yes, but she wanted me to check on you."

Ana gets up and goes over to her own bed while tugging her gloves on tighter.

Mystique peers at her and asked. "How was training today Ana?"

"Huh? Oh it was good mama; Gambit says I need to work on my stealth." She lies down; letting her long brown hair fan out behind her.

"Did he say anything else?" Mystique watches the teenager carefully.

Ana remains silent, and Edie answers. "He told her that he thinks she's not ready to be on the Brotherhood."

"Dammit Edie! I told ya' not to tell anyone." Rogue snapped.

Raven's brow furrowed. "And why not?"

Ana frowns. "I don't know…"

She gets up. "I have to go speak to Magneto, Ana, we'll discuss this later."

She leaves and walks briskly through the run-down house. The base was pathetic, but it was secluded and big enough to harbor the Brotherhood. She passes by Avalanche who had his head bandaged from Cyclops's laser blast. She also sees the young teenage mutant, Pastmaster, sleeping on the floor of his room with a liquor bottle in his hand. The next room she can hear the Scarlet Witch talking to her brother Quicksilver.

She goes downstairs and sees Gambit sitting at the table playing solitaire. His mane of brown was kept from his face with a leather strap as he played. His eyes were pitch black with red irises that gave him the look of a demon, which was his title in the streets of New Orleans: Le Diable Blanc: The White Devil. Remy LeBeau was far from being the devil; he was a mutant with the ability to cover objects with a purple energy which instantly explodes. He used to be a member of the Thieves Guild, and he was now a member of the Brotherhood and Rogue's instructor in fighting. Mystique had no patience for the young man; he barely fought, flirted with many of the female members, and was a pain in her ass. "Gambit." She snipped.

Gamibit's red eyes didn't move from his cards. "'Ello Raven."

Mystique placed her hands on the table as she leaned toward him. Remy looks up into her eyes. "Something on your mind?" He lowers his gaze. "Nice dress."

"Why did you tell Rogue she isn't ready for the Brotherhood?" Mystique growled.

Gambit leans back. "Because she's just a girl Mystique—not a rebel."

"She's a mutant, and a damned good fighter LeBeau!" She argues.

He examines her. "She's still unstable, and needs more time. Just because you don't agree with my teachin'—"

"I don't think you should be teaching Rogue anything you pathetic excuse for a mutant. She is talented—she can fight better than half of the members here. She's ready."

"Really? So if I was to touch her—she'd be able to handle it?"

Raven knew he was referring to Ana's mutant ability to absorb human memories and mutant powers with skin-to-skin contact. The strain of the absorption would render the person unconscious or worse, and Ana would be bombarded with memories and powers. "You will not lay a hand on her." She finally articulated. "Read my lips; back off."

Gambit smirks and snorts. "And what's keeping the X-Men from doin' that? It only takes one touch to drive Rogue over the edge—she can't take that strain Raven. I ain't so willing to throw to the dogs like you—"

Raven grabs the collar of his brown trench coat and wrenches him up. "Don't think I won't take you down Gambit."

Gambit grins as he lifts up a card that suddenly lit up with purple light. "Go ahead cher,"

They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. "Yeah, as fun as this is; Magneto wants to speak to you." Mystique glowers at Gambit before letting him go and turns to see Kid Omega scowling at them in annoyance. She follows the teen as she noticed he gotten a new tattoo of the Libra sign on his neck. Kid Omega was a straggly youth with a pink Mohawk, but he was good with telepathy and can read/control anyone's mind at a distance. He also hated the human race with a vehemence and was a passionate member of the Brotherhood.

Raven goes into Magneto's room and he was at his desk waiting for her. He sees her and tells her calmly. "Charles obtaining the Leonardo siblings is a loss for the Brotherhood." He continues. "You underestimating the children and the X-Men has caused this failure Raven."

"It will not happen again."

"You're right, because you are taken off the mission to exterminate Trinitia Leonardo."

Mystique opened her mouth in outrage, but snaps it closed. She finally speaks when she controls her temper from exploding. "Then who is assigned to this mission?"

"You've worked with him before—"

A gruff voice chuckles. "Hello Raven, long time no see."

Mystique felt her eyes widen as she sees a large shadow in the corner of the room.

"Victor." She snarled.

Victor Creed—the Sabretooth—steps forward revealing a tall, feral mutant. His body was built to be strong enough to kill—as well as the black claws protruding from his fingertips. He was covered in a ratty leather trench coat and a fur pelt. A brown leather band came to a point above is smart brown eyes to keep his mass of dirty blond hair back. He grinned his sharp teeth at Mystique. "You seemed surprise to see me darlin'."

Mystique turned on Magneto. "You're sending Sabretooth!"

"Yes." Magneto told her. "I need someone who can get the job done." He gets up and orders Victor. "You will lure Trinitia Leonardo out of the school and kill her. I do not want you to torture the girl; make it quick and as painless as possible." He tosses the girl's conductors cap to Sabretooth.

He catches it and inhales the scent with his enhanced senses. "Smells young."

Magneto glowers at him distrustfully. "If you can complete the mission with only her causality—"

"Don't worry Magneto, I may be a killer, but I ain't sloppy. Unless I want to be." He smirks at Raven. "Right Raven?"

Mystique ignores him and tries not to remember when she slept with the brute.

Magneto sits back down. "As payment Sabretooth; I'll allow you a free pass at Wolverine."

The feral mutant smiles widely. "Now that is an offer I can't refuse."

"Good, now go,"

Sabretooth walks out of the room, but not before winking at Mystique. She bared her teeth at him as he left. "You shouldn't trust him Erik."

"Don't worry Raven; he'll do as he's told. If he fails, I'll let you deal with him."

Mystique grins at this. "Sounds fun, but I'll pass."

Eric runs a hand through his white hair and sighs tiredly. Even though he was born in the late 1920's he appeared to be in his late thirties due to being rejuvenated. He told her that his old student Viva tried healing him to save his life, and she almost died while healing him—but she didn't just heal him, she made him younger and stronger. He notices Raven staring at him and he grins. He shuts the doors with his powers and locked them.

Mystique walks behind him with a smirk as she massaged his shoulders and worked her way down—happy with the fact she still had power over him.

* * *

**Author and Brother's notes!**

**Brother: "Hmph. I did not think you would do the Brotherhood scene or break it to our viewers how Trinity is a target. Do you think it's too early to bring that up?"**

**"Nope." Author smiles.**

**"Alright, so I see Toad is a creeper."**

**"Yes! He is!"**

**"And Mystique...you managed to make her relatable and...that scares me."**

**"That's good, I liked telling the story from her pov."**

**"Who's Edith?"**

**"My version of U-Go Girl. You remember how Clairmont wanted Mystique and Irene to be Nightcrawler's biological parents?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Well, that inspired me! Edie is the biological daughter of Mystique and Irene!"**

**"Wha-how is this possible?"**

**"Mystique can turn into a man. Duh."**

**"Ah! Now I get it! So IrenexMystique. Different...seeing that Mystique seems to care about her...so strnage...Mystique has a heart..."**

**"Yes. And Rogue's there! Yay!"**

**"Rogue...awesome. Gambit...awesome. Argh! Quicksilver you annoying prick!"**

**"Calm yourself."**

**"Ok. So Mystique and Magneto too? And Sabretooth."**

**"She gets around- don't judge her."**

**"Uh...I thought you hated Mystique."**

**"Yeah, but I like my version."**

**"Haha. Irene and the Civil War reference. Classic. Speaking of classic; Sabretooth vs. Wolverine soon?"**

**"Soon."**

**"Death match?"**

**"Death match."**

**"Yeah! Wait- why didn't you elaborate on your oc Pastmaster!"**

**"I will."**

**"You better...he's 10X's cooler than Quetin Quagmire."**

**"God Quetin annoys me."**

**"So why put him in here?"**

**"Because he's a major character!"**

**"Why are you yelling?"**

**"B/c you are!"**

**"Thank you all for reading. Please review and let us know what you think and criticism is welcomed."**

**"Constructive criticism please. We don't own Marvel...uh. bye." ;)**


	10. Chapter 9: The Tour

Charles was in his office with Scott, Jean, Ororo, and Kurt. He saw that they managed to catch up on their sleep, so he decided they were ready for their next mission. He tells them. "As you know, we have taken on three new students under some strenuous circumstances."

The X-Men nod in agreement as Xavier continued. "And we are about to receive two new students and a pair of instructors to help with this transition. But we need to reach out to the children and let them know we are here for them."

"Of course Professor," Scott agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

The Professor answered. "I want each of you to take the children on a personal tour through the Institute and its grounds. Let them know the rules and build a rapport."

"Who's with who then?" Kurt inquired as he was perched on the edge of the mantle.

The Professor thought a moment. "Scott, I would like for you to guide Dominic around the Institute—show him the danger room and hanger—he would enjoy that. Ororo, if you could please show Allie around and perhaps take her to the lake that would be most helpful. And Kurt, I wish for you to take Trinity on a tour, but be sure to take it slow with her—she is still shaken from her experience."

"Ja Professor, don't worry." Kurt answers.

Ororo nods. "I would be happy to show Allie around."

Scott also agrees. "Yeah, I'll be sure to show Dominic the danger room."

Jean asks. "Do you want me to talk to the students about the children?"

"No Jean, I would like your help here to keep an eye on Trinity, also, Shiro has that covered."

* * *

Shiro stands in front of all the students and barks. "You are to respect the Leonardos—you are not to make them feel uncomfortable in the least—you will not insult them—they have been through a traumatic experience and deserve to feel welcome here. Anyone who fails to do this will have extra danger room sessions with Wolverine and me. Do you understand?"

The students nod nervously.

* * *

Dominic walks in with Allie and they are greeted by Scott and Ororo.

"Hey guys." Dom mutters.

Scott nods and takes Dom's suitcase. "Here, I'll show you around."

Ororo picks up Allie's suitcase. "And I'll show you to your room Allie."

The siblings peer at each, but finally follow the adults to their separate quarters.

* * *

Scott placed Dominic's suitcase in the boy's new room. Dominic sees that he was sharing the room with someone who had a Canadian flag pinned to the wall on his side. Scott tells him. "Your roommate's name is Sammy Pierre."

"What're his powers?" Dominic asked.

"His mutation altered his body to be fish-like and breathe under water. Come on," Scott leads him through the Institute as he told him all of the rules, which Dom was sure he was going to forget in a couple days…or at the end of the tour. They suddenly go to the elevator and Dominic asks. "Where are we going?"

Scott tells him. "We are going to my favorite room: The Danger Room."

"Sounds…dangerous." Dominic sarcastically answers.

"Well, we can skip it if you want—"

"Hey, just because it's dangerous doesn't mean I'm afraid." The boy argued.

Scott tried to hide his smirk. "Yep, Jean's right." He steps into the elevator as the boy followed.

"Right about what?"

"You're a lot like Leon."

Dom grinned. "Really? My mom told me he was always a smart-ass." He froze anxiously when he realized he cussed in front of an instructor.

Scott nods. "Yeah, but that's a bit of an understatement."

Dominic laughs. "I'll be sure to tell him that."

The elevator stops and they walk into a hallway. Dominic followed his instructor to a large vaulted door. He stared at it in astonishment as Scott placed a hand on a sensor to open it. They walked into a large room—no this room made 'large' look miniscule. Dominic's jaw dropped as he gazed at the metal paneled room that started to shimmer…and they were suddenly standing in the middle of a desert…well he thought they were in a desert. He sees a cactus and touches it, but instead of being pricked by needles he received a tiny electric shock. "Hey!"

Scott explains. "Don't worry, it's all hologram technology that our mechanic Forge invented. That cactus is just a metal dome that gives static shocks. This room can create laser cannons, elevate floors, create life-like projections, and different obstacles to train us for battle."

Dominic smiled. He was like a chocoholic in a Willy Wonka's factory. "Wow."

"Wow?" A new voice echoed through the room from speakers. "That's all I get for creating this masterpiece—not even Tony Stark has tech like this—and he's Ironman for crying out loud!"

Cyclops points to ceiling. "That's Forge."

Dominic sees a room that was connected to the ceiling, and sees a man with a moustache and a bandana tied around his forehead looking down at them.

Dominic yells. "Sorry, but this is all so freaking awesome—I can't form the words for it."

Forge stays silent and then answers. "I like you kid, hold on, I'll be down there in a minute."

Dominic peers at Scott. "He built all of this?"

"Yeah, among other things."

Forge walks out from a doorway that appeared in the wall in front of them. Dominic saw that Forge's right arm and leg were gone and in place were metal prosthetics that looked like it belonged in the year 3000. He walks over while cleaning his hands, which were covered in oil. "So this is Meg's son?"

Scott nods. "Yeah, can't you see the resemblance?"

Forge tilts his head. "Nope," He gives Dominic his hand. "Hey, I'm Forge, I was good friends with your mom, Leon, and Marisol."

Dom takes his hand. "Hey."

"Man of few words? You'll fit in with Logan." Forge then spreads out his hands. "So Dominic how do you like Mutant High?"

The boy shrugs. "It's pretty incredible."

Forge. "Yep. If you have any questions, just ask. Like—what's the security like? Or—does the Danger Room have electric coils that tackle anyone unfortunate enough not to pay attention during action sequences? The first is—the security is damn good. And yes, yes we do have electrical coils."

Dominic grinned. "Cool. Did you invent hologram tech.?"

"Yes. And with it, I helped Tony create image inducers."

"Image inducers?"

"Hologram projections that are cast over a person who has an image inducer. A lot of security/secret agencies use them. You should know all about that from S.H.—"  
Scott clears his throat and shook his head, and Forge changes the subject:

"SH—Stark—Tony Stark—Tony was fun to work with—always a babe and beer nearby his workshop…"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, those women were—"

"No, you worked with Tony Stark?"

"Oh yeah, I got a monthly check to prove it. I get money from Stark Industries as payment for helping Tony create image inducers. It's my monthly allowance…I would've gotten an allowance for my laser pellets if I didn't sell out…"

"You invented laser guns!"

"Sorta', it's a long story—well, I tried to steal some tech from Stark Tower as a kid…I was caught…and Howard Stark paid me a visit before the police came, so I cut him a deal. I gave him blueprints for laser pellet and gun tech.—I wrote it on a napkin from my pocket—and Stark was so impressed he let me go and gave me a couple grand to keep my mouth shut…I don't know why I even tried, it took him years to develop laser pellets correctly even with the blueprints I made. So I created them into my prosthetic arm." His arm transforms into a laser gun.

Dominic laughs. "Sweet! What type of energy source does it run on?"

"A tech. man! A knew there was a reason I liked you." He glances at Scott. "Has he seen the Blackbird yet?"

"No. You want to show him?"

The two men lead Dominic to 'the hanger'. At first the room was dark, but then lights flicker on and Dominic hoots. "You own a jet!"

He's sees a beautiful, sleek jet; its black wings spread from the sharp body gracefully like a bird's…_I'm in love._ Dominic thought.

* * *

Allie follows Ororo as the woman tells her. "We eat breakfast at seven, lunch at twelve, and dinner at six. But feel free to get snacks whenever you are hungry."

The girl nods as she follows her outside. Storm shows her all of the great fields, forest, pool, and finally, they made it to the cliff. Allie looks down and gasped when she saw the beautiful lake. "Ms. Munroe—we can go down there, right?"

Ororo nods. "Of course little one, as long as you have someone with you and permission from an instructor."

"Okay—can we go down now?"

Storm smiles. "Of course—hold onto me." She picks up Allie and steps closer to the edge. "Ready to fly?"

Allie's eyes widen. "Yes!"

Ororo laughs as she jumps off the cliff and wind surrounded them as they flew down. Allie gasped as she felt her body lift from the wind. They floated to the ground and Ororo puts the girl down. Allie stumbles and giggles. "That was so cool!"

Storm watches as the girl skips over, picks up a stone, and threw it. The stone skipped over the still waters twice until it sunk underneath the shallow lake. Ororo picks up a stone as well and throws it as the rock skipped five times.

Allie asks. "How long have you lived here Ms. Munroe?"

Ororo remembers. "I came here when I was around your age…I've lived here for seventeen years."

"Wow. You knew my mom? And Leon? And Marisol too?"

Ororo skips another stone and answers. "Yes. Your mother was an amazing teacher…even though she was a student. She was very caring and patient."

"She still is." Allie skips a stone and it skipped thrice. "Did she hang out with you a lot?"

"Yes, but she tended to hang out with Xi'an, Moira, and Hank even more. She was always in the clinic with Hank to learn about mutant genetics from Moira, and was best friends with Xi'an. I spent a lot of my time with Marisol and Jean."

"What was Leon like?"

Storm smiled. "Rebellious…but smart and protective. He actually took me shopping for winter clothes when Professor Xavier brought me here." She chuckled. "He was just as confused as I was to find the right outfits for me. He was really protective over me, Petra, and Marisol. He was always with Armondo and Hank…with Scott and Forge constantly tagging along."

Allie skips her third stone, which only hit the waters twice. "Who's Petra and Armondo? Leon never told us stories about them."

Ororo was about to skip a stone, but stops. "They…they were good friends with your uncle…they passed away years ago."

Allie turns to her. "Oh. What were they like?"

"Petra was quiet…she followed Leon around a lot…he was her 'big brother'…she could manipulate stone like it was putty and lift rocks with an invisible force. Armondo Munoz was Leon and Hank's best friend. He was a sweet man…funny and intelligent—that was the focus of their friendship. His body can transform to adapt to anything…"

"They sound pretty cool." Allie comments.

"Yes, they were."

"Ororo, do you think I'll make any friends here?"

Storm smiled as she sat down; she took off her shoes and placed her feet into the water. "Yes."

"Really?" Allie sits down next to her and copies her as she placed her tiny feet into the lake.

Ororo stared at the light blue sky and the fluffly clouds started to swirl into different shapes on her command. "Yes, really, you don't have to worry about not fitting in, Allie."

"Why?"

She peers at the girl. "You ask many questions. But here's the answer; because all of the students asked me this question, and I gave the same answer—and it was right."

Allie grinned. "That's good. Ororo, do you think I can be an X-Man?"

The older woman blinks in surprise and gazes at the girl; her black curls trembling from the wind as her light green eyes stared at the lake. "Do you want to be an X-Man?"

"Yes!" Allie looks up at her. "I can right?"

Storm doesn't answer as she looks back at the lake and picks up a stone. "Maybe one day." She threw the stone, which skipped four times until it splashed back into the water.

* * *

Trinity saw the Professor waiting in the foyer for her. "Professor Xavier."

He nods. "Follow me my dear, and be sure to bring your luggage with you."

Trinity sees her suitcase and picks it up as she follows the professor. After going through a few hallways, they made it to a room. The professor went in with Trinity trailing behind him closely. She saw they were in a bedroom that was twice the size of her old room and even had a window. There were two beds and dressers, along with a small closet.

The professor explains. "This will be your room Trinity, you do not have to share with anyone until you're comfortable enough to do so."

Trinity nods silently as she placed her suitcase on her bed.

The professor explains. "Monday through Friday we have classes to prep students for school as well as individual training courses. For your training, Ms. Grey and I will teach you. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask."

"Thank you Professor." Trinity whispered as he left.

Trinity shut the door and went over to her suitcase and unpacked. Her mom packed her all of her winter clothes, t-shirts, and jeans. She also packed a couple skirts and dresses…don't know why—she wasn't going out. She put all of her clothes away, and saw that her mom also packed her books and movies: from her favorite Golden age cinemas to Shakespearian plays. She stacked the books and movies on her dresser and then picked up Bamf and sat on her bed to stare at the soft doll. Cara did a great job stitching the Bamf—it looked a lot like Nightcrawler.

There was a knock on her door, and Trinity puts down the doll. "Yes?" She opens her door to see Nightcrawler standing before her, "speak of the devil", but he wasn't in his red and black spandex uniform. Kurt was actually wearing black and purple pin-striped pants and a white button-up shirt. He smiled at her. "Hallo Trinity, may I come in?"

Trinity nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Kurt walks in and looks around the room thoughtfully and turns around to gaze at Trinity with the cheerful smile he still wore. Trinity stared back; not really bothered by the silence. He tilts his head at her and his tail swished behind him like a cat's. "It surprises me how quickly you're used to seeing me. Most people stare at my tail or hands."

Trinity peered at Kurt's hands and sees that his nails were freshly filed down. She then answers. "I guess I'm different…"

Kurt grinned. "I'm glad you're not afraid of me."

"Why would I be?" Trinity asked; sure the tail and fur were a shock, but he didn't seem frightening.

Kurt walks around her as he inspects the room. "I remember the first time you saw me…at the window?"

Trinity suddenly remembered the gold eyes. "That was you!"

Kurt turned around and answered enthusiastically. "Ja."

"You scared me—I mean not you—but I didn't think I'd see a person staring at me—I'm sorry." She told him in a rush as she reddened in embarrassment.

Kurt chuckled. "Macht nichts," He then playfully bows to Trinity. "I will be your tour guide for today, liebchen."

She looks at her feet and asks. "Can I just stay in here?"

Kurt teleports so he is next to the window and opens it. "Why stay in when you have the best weather in New York; free of acid rain and frigid cold?"

She peers out the window curiously, but keeps her distance.

He notices and jokes. "Don't worry fraulein; I don't bite."

She edges closer to him, but keeps away from the window. He notices and closes it. She must be afraid of heights.

Kurt smiled at Trinity and holds out his hand. Trinity slowly takes it. Kurt pulled her into an embrace, while telling her. "Hold on."

They teleport out of the room in a burst of purple and black smoke. Trinity coughs as Kurt waves the smoke away from her. "I know; I should come with a warning sign, or an air freshener."

"It's not—" She coughs. "Too bad."

"Very convincing fraulein, I almost believed you." He teases her. Trinity smirks and he cheers. "Aha! I finally managed to get a smile out of you."

Trinity couldn't help but smile more as she agrees. "Your enthusiasm is contagious."

"Gutt." He tells her as he takes her arm to lead her through the mansion. "The boys' rooms are usually on the left side of the mansion and girls are on the right." He peers at her with a wry grin. "I don't think I have to tell you which side of the institute your room is on?"

"The right?"

"Ja, for some reason the boys have a hard time understanding this." Kurt shakes his head in pseudo-frustration, making Trinity giggle.

"Do the teachers stay in the halls too?"

"Yes, except for the Professor, he has a room behind the office, and me. I live in the attic, trust me, it's nicer than it sounds. Plenty of room and it has a great view."

"Doesn't it get cold?"

Kurt runs a hand through his black curls. "The bonus of having fur is that it's harder to get cold. Also, when you live in New York, you have to get used to it."

Trinity nods as she absorbs this. Kurt explains. "Each hall has a main bathroom for the boys and girls; be sure you don't make the mistake of leaving the door unlocked."

He leads her downstairs and down more halls. "The living room, dining room, and kitchen. Be sure to stay away from the beers in the refrigerator or Logan will hunt you down for them." He motions to the upstairs. "The main house 2nd floor is the Professor's study, reception area, and chamber. The library is downstairs on the girls' side and the laundry room is on the boys' side. Below, is where our clinic, lab, jet hanger, Cerebro, danger room, and computer rooms are. Any questions?"

Trinity looked out a window. "Can we go outside please?"

Kurt grins as they teleported.

In a puff of smoke, they disappear. Trinity opened her eyes to see that they were in the garden. She steps away from Kurt as she looks around in amazement. It was filled with different plants; from colorful flowers to leafy ferns. She walks through the garden and sits at the fountain in its center. She looks up at Kurt with a huge smile. "I love it! Who designed this garden?"

"Ororo and…your aunt." Kurt tells her as he sits beside her.

Trinity's smile wavers. "Marisol…she designed this place?"

Kurt nods and stands. "Come on, I have something to show you." He wasn't in his cheerful mood now, he was more thoughtful as he gently lead Trinity around the fountain. They came to a patch of marigolds; their bright petals of orange and gold swaying in the breeze. In the middle of the patch, there was a marble plaque that read:

_**In honor of Marisol Lafayette Proudstar: A loving sister and friend, a brave X-Man and Xavier Institute Graduate, and an amazing wife and mother.**_

"_**Ororo and I designed this garden to be a personal Eden to anyone who needs its beauty and serenity. When I'm gone, I hope this garden will continue to flourish by new and different hands of the X- family." ~Marisol**_

Trinity read the plaque and rubbed her eyes to keep tears from escaping.

Kurt sees and tells her. "She loved it here. She would always bring your cousins with her to visit Thunderbird…they were happy here…I think you'll be too."

Trinity looks up at him in surprise as her lip trembled. "She…always told me about her school…about mutant powers…she was always wanted to talk to me about anything…she would tell me that she would always be there for me…and she was…even in the hospital…" Trinity felt the tears run down her face. "I miss her…everyone does…she was great…"

Kurt nods in agreement. "Yes."

Trinity covered her face in embarrassment as she took shaky breaths to calm herself.

Kurt reminisces about when he came to the institute at 14… He was a mess. Marisol was one of the people who managed to make him feel welcomed—like he belonged. He remembered how his teenage angst was no match for her cheerful persona and he chuckled to himself. Trinity looked over at him in surprise.

Kurt frowns for forgetting himself and explains. "Sorry, you know, when I came here I was a mess too." He gets a pack of tissues out of his pocket with his tail and gives them to her. "Luckily, I came prepared."

Trinity took the tissues and her shoulders shook. Kurt instantly felt terrible; thinking she was going to cry again. _Great jod Wagner,_ He thought to himself. Instead of crying, she began laughing; teary eyed while giggling out hiccups. "Y-you're right; I am a mess!" She starts wiping up her face. "Thanks, I can't believe I cried like that." She mops up her face.

Kurt smirked. "Don't worry about it Trinity."

Trinity sniffs and nods. "Thank you. I'm glad you showed me the plaque…I never understood why Mami—my mom, never told me about this. This place—it's amazing."

Kurt looks up at the sky as he slowly explained. "Sometimes, it's easier for people to distance themselves to deal with losing someone…for others, talking about them helps."

"It does?" Trinity asked. "Does it help you?" She instantly regretted asking him such a personal question.

Kurt blinks, but looks at her with a grin. "Sometimes, but I'm a very complicated person—sometimes I'm quiet, and sometimes, you can't shut me up."

Trinity chuckled at the joke. Kurt offers her his arm. "Do you want to see the rest of the Institute?"

"Yeah," Trinity says as she takes his arm. Kurt walks with her slowly and points out the pool, tennis courts, basketball court, the field, and the track.

"There's also a trail through the woods." Kurt motions to the forest behind and left of the institute that was passed the track.

Trinity peers at the woods. "Looks creepy,"

"That's why we aren't allowed in there unless we have a partner to watch our backs."

Trinity starts and looks up at Kurt questionably. He notices and snorts. "Don't worry, the only thing dangerous about is that it connects to the road that leads here. Also, people tend to get lost. The only scary thing is Logan, he goes hunting in the woods when he's bored—ah, here he is now." They see Logan walking out of the woods with fishing poles and something large and tan flung over his bare shoulder. He was shirtless and only wore jeans, but this didn't bother the rugged mutant as he approached. "Ach! Logan, it's not deer season yet!" Kurt exclaimed.

Trinity realized that Logan was carrying a deer corpse over his shoulder. She watched as Logan smirked. "Tell that to Bambi here." He drops the deer onto the ground and she saw it had a three-point gash in its chest and blood on its large antlers. "I was fishing when he came charging at me, I guess I was on the buck's territory. Well, tell Moira that we're having deer tonight. I'll carve it for her." He notices Trinity and nods. "Hey kid."

"Hi." Trinity squeaked as she tried not to stare.

Logan snorts in amusement as he picks up the buck by its hind legs and dragged it behind him to the garage.

"Make sure you put its parts in trash bag this time!" Kurt called after him. "Lorna is still having nightmares about finding 'bambi' in the garage."

Trinity blinked—still surprised, until she snorted out a laugh. "Does he usually hunt?"

"He enjoys it, but he doesn't really do it here often. He'll disappear for days on end and come back with some game from Canada. Sometimes I tag along, but I prefer getting my food from a fridge instead of the forest." Kurt winks.

"Let me guess, he doesn't use a gun?"

"Nein, he uses his hands. Logan is much more…what's the word?"

"Bad-ass?"

"Ja, that's the word." Kurt agreed.

* * *

Dominic walks to his room and sees the door was open. When he stepped inside he stopped. A tall, skinny boy was sitting in a chair playing on a laptop. That didn't make Dominic stare; the boy had scaly orange-red skin with red markings on his face and a large, frilled dorsal fin growing from his head like a Mohawk. His webbed fingers were attached to the keyboard as he played. He looked up with large, pupil-less grey eyes and greeted. "Hello, you must be Dominic. I'm Sammy; your new roommate." Dominic noticed that Sammy didn't have a nose…but two pinpoint holes were in its place…and his neck had slits in them like gills. Scott was right—he was fish-like…he thought it was an exaggeration, but apparently not. "Uh—Hey…I'm Dominic."

Sammy analyzes Dominic and says. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Dominic frowned. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to—stuff. What're you playing?"

"Slenderman—AH!" Sammy almost dropped his laptop. "He got me again!"

Dominic looks over his shoulder. "Yeah, I played that—you might as well stop now."

"Why?"

"Because he still gets to you when you live."

"No!"

"Yeah,"

Sammy shuts his laptop. "Crap."

Dominic sits on his bed. "So—you're from Canada?"

Sammy smirked and nodded to the flag. "What gave me away? I heard that you're from the Jersey shore."

"Huh? Oh, nah, I live near Morris county."

"Cool." Sammy nods and stays silent, until he asks. "Is it true that your mom went here?"

"Yeah, and my aunt and uncle." Dominic tells him. "Speaking of that, my cousins should be coming here soon."

"That's awesome; I'm the first mutant in my family."

"Really? Did the Professor tell your parents about the Institute?"

"Yeah, he told my mom about it, and she decided it would be good to send me down here."

"That's cool. My family told me how great this place is."

"Hey, is it true you faced the Brotherhood?"

Dominic peers at him and nods. "Yeah…"

"Seriously? Did you fight the Blob?"

Dom remembers his embarrassing feat and answers. "Sort of—"

"Sweet! So tell me; cause Bobby always tell us how hot Mystique is, is it true?"

Dom grinned. "Yeah, she's pretty hot,"

Sammy smiles. "Not as hot as Storm though, right?"

He chortles. "Yeah—I saved her life."

"You saved Storm?"

"Yeah, there was an avalanche and I pushed her out of the way—by the way, my mutant power is being invulnerable and I can create these sonic blasts from my hands and feet."

"So, wait, you're invincible?"

Dom grinned and hopped up. "Yeah," He walks over to the window and opens it. He looks down: one story up. "Watch this."

"Uh…Dominic, what're you doing?"

"Gonna show you my powers." He gets onto the windowsill.

"Hold on, this isn't funny, just don't—"

Dominic jumps out of the window with a hoot.

Sammy shouts as he watches Dominic fall toward the ground, and suddenly fly off the ground as an invisible force "BOOMED" from his feet. Sammy's jaw dropped as he watched Dominic fly through the air. He then ran out of his room, down the stairs, and out the door where he ran into Dominic. "You did it! You jumped out a window and freaking survived!" He laughed as Dominic shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

They continued walking around the grounds, which Trinity enjoyed the most. She watched as a few kids her age were playing some sort of soccer game. One girl with long brown hair was flying around with wind swirling around her, while one guy was throwing snowballs at her…wait, where did he get those? Kurt peered at her and wondered if she was going to go play, but the girl held onto his arm tighter and looked frightened. Kurt frowned, the girl was a lot like he was; too scared to be around people…afraid of doing something wrong. One guy noticed her and smirked. Kurt recognized it was one of the newer students who transferred from Australia: John Allerdyce. Kurt sighed, he and John weren't the "best of friends" so to speak and he constantly got on Nightcrawler's bad side…which was difficult for anyone to do. John was serious, aggressive, and crass in class and could care less about Kurt's authority; claiming that Kurt "had no right to be an instructor, let alone a mutant". Kurt didn't do anything when John said this, and tried to laugh it off…unfortunately, Scott heard what happened and reprimanded John to 'lay off' and respect Kurt. Even though Nightcrawler was grateful to Cyclops, sending a man to tell off a boy was embarrassing and it gave John more confidence when facing others; like he knew he could get to both the students and teachers.

John walked over to them and Nightcrawler took a breath and greeted him. "Hallo John, having a nice day?"

John quirked a brow as he peered at Trinity. "Apparently you are Nightcrawler, who's this?"

Kurt repressed the urge to roll his eyes; there was no way in hell he'd give John the satisfaction, especially in front of Trinity who became glued to Kurt. "This is Trinitia Leonardo."

John smirked at her. "Hey,"

Trinity smiled. "Hello." She glanced at the guy as her pulse quickened and Kurt felt incredibly uncomfortable.

John nods at the field. "Want to play a few games?"

Trinity blanched and shook her head. "No thanks."

"Come on girl," John took a step toward her. "Who knows, you might have some fun. I'll let you win a few rounds."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. John hitting on a girl; this was new.

Kurt felt Trinity grow nervous and he decided to intervene. "Nein, John, I have to show her around more." Trinity instantly relaxed and nodded.

John shrugs. "Alright then," He was about to walk off when he turns to tell her. "If you want me to show you around sweets, I'm in room 6." He runs off to get back into the game as Kurt teleported Trinity elsewhere.

* * *

Allie walks beside Ororo as they head toward the school. They hear barking and Allie squealed. "You guys own dogs!" She runs over to the group of canines that were bounding around the field. Ororo laughed as Extreme, Hernando's Great Dane, started licking Allie's face and knocked her over. Allie laughed as more dogs trotted over and sniffed her with curiosity. Allie sat up as a Golden Retriever was nibbling on her hair. A Collie starts tugging on her sleeve as a Airedale Terrier sat on her lap. She petted the animals around her as she sees a reddish-brown wolfish dog sitting beside her patiently. Allie goes over to her and rubs her ears as she coos. "Who's the pretty puppy! Who's the pretty doggy—your fur is so silky soft—yes, it is!"

"Um Allie," Storm explained. "That's not a dog."

The girl raised a thick eyebrow in confusion, and when she turned back to the dog—a girl with the same color hair sat in front of her. Allie gaped as the girl greeted:

"Hello! I'm Rahne McTaggart. Nice to meet you Allie."

Allie looked around for the dog, until she realized that this was for real. "Uh—Hi. Sorry about petting you and talking to you like you were a…"

"Dog? Nah, I'm a werewolf—well I can turn into a wolf and some kind of in-between wolf-human."

Allie nods. "That's awesome."

Rahne laughs. "Do ya' want to play a game?"

"Sure."

"Alright—tag!" Rahne taps her arm and jumps away while turning back into a wolf. Allie jumps up and chases Rahne as the other dogs follow them.

* * *

Trinity took a deep breath as she walks out of her room. Hoping she'd run into Kurt and eat with him instead of ending up alone at dinner. She saw that no one else was in the hallway, and knew they were probably already downstairs eating. She jumped when someone slammed a door open down the hall. Allie ran out and saw her sister. "Trin!"

She grabs her sister's arm and started dragging her along. "I had the best day today—I got to fly to the lake with Ms. Munroe, skipped stones, and played with Rahne!"

Trinity listened to her sister and smiled.

"Did you go out today Trin?"

She tells her. "Yeah, I got to walk around with Kurt."

"Really! That's great, he's really nice and like totally cool—he can juggle and he calls me 'haschen' whenever he sees me—I don't what that means, but it's like a pet name you know?"

Her older sister listens to her rabbling, but froze when they made it downstairs. Trinity could hear the voices and feel the people in the dining room. She felt her chest tighten in fear as she stayed still. Allie notices. "Hey, it's okay, Rahne tells me they're nice. They get it."

Trinity stares at the door and shook her head. "I don't know…I can't—"

Allie pulls her in. "Come in!"

Trinity stumbles with her sister and felt sick when everyone turned to stare at her. She resisted the urge to bolt as Allie pulled her along to sit down. Dominic was sitting next to a red fish-boy and waved them over. Trinity stared at her feet as she sat down. She could smell the curiosity in the room. A boy suddenly sits in the chair next to her. Trinity looks up nervously as she greeted by a boy her age with dark skin and curly dark brown hair. "Hey." He smiled.

Trinity saw his aura—it was a nice and warm green color—like a emerald shade. "Hey."

The boy grins wider as he holds out his hand. "Me llamo Hernando. Y tu?"

"Uh…me llamo Trinitia Leonardo." She takes his hand.

"Your Spanish is pretty good."

"Not really, my mami taught me that." She told him.

He lets go of her hand it strangely felt like she was peeling herself off from flypaper.

He puts his chin on his hands as he gazed at her. "You are gorgeous Trinitia."

Trinity blushed in embarrassment and shook her head.

He laughs. "I'm not lying; you're muy Hermosa."

Someone scolds. "Stop scaring her Hernando." The girl Trinity saw flying in the field sat in front of her and told her. "He's a terrible flirt, but is harmlessly earnest."

Hernando shrugs and wraps an arm around Trinity like she was an old friend. "How do you like the Xavier Institute?" Dominic glared at the boy's arm, but Trinity didn't really mind—it felt nice having someone kind and calm next to her.

"It's really nice here…" She tells them.

The girl smiled at her. "I'm Sofia Mantega by the way."

"Aka rich girl." Hernando whispered to Trinity.

Sofia scowled. "And he's aka rich boy of the Institute. He's jealous because my father makes more money than his."

"I respectfully disagree Sofia." Hernando cheerfully sniffed. "The Reyes family is making good money from our chain of hotels—my cousin is actually being sent to medical school with my dad's money."

"And what are you doing with you allowance, Hernando?" A girl with curly green hair asks from down the table.

"Hopefully, spending it on this lovely lady here?" He peers at Trinity suavely.

A boy with brown spikey hair nods. "That's my boy."

A girl with red hair sits next to Allie and says. "No flirting Hernando."

"Trinitia, this is my amazing girlfriend Rahne." Hernando introduces Rahne.

"I'm not his girlfriend." She answers.

"Future wife then?" He begged.

"Never." She told him.

"Secret lover?"

Rahne throws a roll at him and he catches it while mouthing "I love you!"

The girl with green hair calls down the table. "Hi! I'm Lorna Dane," She motions to the boy with the spikey hair. "And this is my boyfriend Bobby Drake."

"Hey!" Bobby waves.

Trinity waves back. "Uh—hi."

Dominic nods to the fish-boy. "This is Sammy; he's my new roommate."

"Hi Sammy."

"Hi. Hope you like it here." Sammy greets.

"Thanks."

Dominic points to Allie. "That's my little sister Allie."

Allie waves at Sammy. "Hello, I love your fin!"

Sammy blinks in surprise. "Uh thanks."

A girl with honey-colored curls sits next to Sammy. She had tan skin and brown eyes which glanced at Allie and Trinity. "Hello, I'm Amara." She reaches over and shakes their hands. She was tiny, and looked like she was younger than Dominic, but older than Allie.

Trinity felt more comfortable as she ate. Hernando was really friendly and asked her lots of questions as Sofia kept him in check. Dominic was busy talking to Sammy and Amara, while Allie chatted with Rahne.

Hernando asked. "What's your favorite color?"

"Um…purple."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Spaghetti."

"Who do you think is the sexiest man here?"

"Hernando—" Sofia warned.

"Okay." Hernando sighed, but then whispered. "Is it me?"

Trinity smirked and whispered back. "Sure."

Hernando laughed. "I like her—she lets me flirt with her." He then turns thoughtful. "What's your mutant power?"

Trinity dropped her fork onto her plate of deer meat and vegetables as the whole room became silent. Hernando notices the tension and says. "You don't have to tell us."

She looked up at Dominic who stared back at her. She finally says. "I can see, feel, and control other people's emotions."

Everyone murmured in excitement as Bobby asked. "How do you see emotions?"

"Well…I can see auras around people…like yours is a bright silvery blue with green edge."

Bobby raised his eyebrows in interest and Lorna asked. "What about me?"

Trinity concentrated and saw her aura. "Yours is a red violet shade with red edges." Lorna grinned as she whispered to Bobby excitedly.

Soon everyone wanted to know what colors their auras were: Sofia's was a light green with blue edges, Amara's was a bright red with pink edges, Allie had a rose aura, Sammy's was blue with yellow edges, and Dominic's was a dark green with orange edges. Everyone was now gathered around Trinity as they asked more questions.

Lorna asked her. "So, your aunt was a telepath too?"

"Yeah, my aunt Marisol could read both thoughts and emotions."

Bobby nods. "Yeah, and your mom can heal people?"

"Yes. She can heal anything, but when she does it—it feels like your reliving the pain of the injury. She works at the hospital secretly curing patients."

Sammy nods. "You should see Dominic—he's completely invulnerable."

Dominic smirked as he picked up his fork for everyone to see and jabs it into his hand as hard as he could. Everyone exclaimed when he showed them a bent up fork and an unmarked hand.

Amara turns to Allie. "What's your power Alicia?"

The girl lifts up her hands and three pink orbs flickered into the air and floated above them. Sofia stood up and touched one of the spheres, which bounced off her finger and floated away until all three orbs disappeared. Everyone clapped as Allie stood on her chair and bowed.

Trinity started to laugh at her sister's antics.

* * *

Outside the door Jean and Scott were listening in. Jean smiled. "Sounds like everything's going well."

Scott smirked. "Yeah." He reminisces. "Remember your first dinner here?"

"How could I forget, you spilt milk all over me."

"Well, not all over you; just your shirt."

"And then you tried to clean it off my shirt."

"Yeah, I wasn't really thinking."

"It was still sweet though," She kissed him. "That's why I stayed."

"Because I spilt my drink on you?" He teased.

"No, because you wanted me to stay, and I wanted to know the real Scott Summers."

He smiled down at her. "Really?"

"Yeah really, I wouldn't be marrying you if this wasn't true."

Scott smiled as he warps a arm around her and they walked upstairs to their room.

* * *

Trinity walked into the kitchen with her plate and sees the boy—John—sitting on the counter eating an apple. She paused and gazed at him; he was cute…messy gold hair and blue-green eyes—and the Australian accent was hot—she always had a thing for foreign guys—well, that's what Allison told her. He gave her a lopsided grin. "Hey."

Trinity nods to him. "Hi…" She goes over to the sink and rinses her plate; wishing for someone else to show up.

She heard him hop off the counter and stand beside her, while leaning against the sink beside her. "So, do you go by Trinitia?"

She peers at him as he bit into the apple. "I go by Trinity…or Trin."

"Trin…I'll call you Trinity." He grins at her. "You're not much of a talker are you?"

She reddened in embarrassment. "Um—uh." _I used to be..._

"Not a big deal, the best kind of girl is one that doesn't have to talk 24/7 to make a point. So Trinity," He leans toward her with a grin. "What do you think of Xavier's?"

Trinity leaned back as she stammered. "It's—uh—pretty amazing." She stared at his aura and notices how it was reddish orange…but the edge was strange…it was a greyish color that was dulled.

John raised an eyebrow. "Ever had a tour of New York city?"

"No."

"Want one? I can take you out tomorrow night."

Trinity gaped. _Yes! I would love to go! Yes! Yes!_ But she knew better. "I'm sorry John. I can't; I have to stay at the Institute until I can control my powers…"

"We can sneak out if you want." He tosses the core of his apple into the trash.

"I'm sorry; I can't…but…I would like another tour of the grounds." Trinity stopped leaning back and stood tall as she gave him a small smile.

John smirked. "Alright, I'll meet you here tomorrow night." He leaves, but not before getting another apple from the bowl and tossing it to her. "Apple?"

Trinity barely caught it and shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm full." She tosses it back and he catches it and takes a bite out of it. He leaves and she stood there with a smile plastered on her face. _I think I just got myself a date…_

* * *

**Brother: "This chapter is so long!"**

**"I know! It took forever to write..."**

**"Really?"**

**"No, I was drinking tea and I was typing like crazy!"**

**"This makes no sense."**

**"Yes. So whatcha' think?"**

**"Trinity is very emotional..."**

**"Again, you would be too if you have emotional power overload!"**

**"I don't like John."**

**"Yes, you've told that eversince I introduced him into the story."**

**"Hernando makes me smile, but where's Betsy!"**

**"She'll be there in the next chappie. Btw readers-I know my German is not good-"**

**"Ja. Kurt keeps on saying "Ja" and "fraulein". I thought the modern term is 'frau'."**

**"It is, and liebchen is old fashioned too, but I always saw Kurt as an old-fashioned guy. I'll try to dial it down with the German."**

**"Remember when you spelled "Was?" as "Vas?"-"**

**"It was a typo and I'm sorry!"**

**"'Macht nichts?'"**

**"It means "No worries".'**

**'"For the rest of your days!"**

**"No singing!"**

**"Ok...Allie's adorable...(snicker) Dom jumping out of the window made my day..."**

**"He is a show off."**

**"Nein!"**

**"Ugh, you're never letting that go." :{0**

**"What is that? A moustache face?"**

**"Yes. Btw- Me llamo _. Means "My name is _" in Spanish. Yeah, my langauges suck, but I'm trying."**

**"We don't own Marvel."**

**"Thanks for reading! Please review and let us know what you think. We love the reviews we recieve. They were awesome!"**


	11. Chapter 10: Memories

Kendra pushes against the wheelchair as hard as she could to get over the threshold of the door. Twyla turns while her brown short-twist hair bounced on her head. "You got this?" She asked, holding onto the armrests of her chair.

"I should've asked Kenneth to help—" Kendra whined.

"Come on—just push; you can do it." Twyla gave her friend a reassuring tap on the hand.

Kendra shoved forward as the wheels finally moved and they made it outside. Twyla gave a whoop of victory as Kendra quietly giggled.

They walked up the driveway and Kendra frowned as her tio and Kenneth were loading the trailer with luggage. Twyla notices. "Hey, how long are ya'll going to stay in New York?"

Kendra answered. "Maybe a year."

Twyla blinked her light brown eyes as she watched Leon and Kenneth. "Alright, Mr. Lafayette—promise that you'll let Kendra visit me."

Leon stops his work and nods. "As long as you promise to stay out of trouble."

Twyla laughed. "Uh-huh. I'm gonna miss you all—even you Kenneth. Now I won't have anyone to carry me around."

Kenneth smiled at Twyla. "As soon as you get those forearm crutches you won't need me anymore."

She snorted. "Yeah, let's not put the cart before the horse—I have to learn and practice before I can fully walk."

"You can do it." Kenneth tells her. "You're a strong little girl."

She chuckles to Kendra. "He calls me little because he has the body structure of a giant."

Kenneth laughs and goes over to Twyla to give her a hug. She wrapped her dark brown arms around him. "See ya'."

"See ya' Kenny." Twyla tells him as he goes back to load the trailer.

Kendra pushes the chair over to the side and away from her family so she could talk to Twyla in private. She finds a good grassy spot on their side yard under a tree. She stops the chair and then walks around to sit in front of her. She looks up at her as Twyla tapped her feet against the chair and adjusted her maroon fingerless gloves that matched the color of her t-shirt. Kendra stayed silent as she tore at the grass. Twyla was Kendra's best friend…they were the girls who found reading fun, who loved to discuss philosophy and art in their favorite anime shows, and who had huge Halloween blowouts. Twyla had her own sense of style and outcast style that matched Kendra's dark-dressy outfits and artistry. Whenever Kendra was teased for being brainy and strange Twyla stuck up for her with her brash honesty, and scared the bullies off by telling them. "You may have fists, but I have wheels bitches."

Kendra looked down as she made sure her lacy-black skirt wasn't scrunching up.

Twyla broke the silence. "So I'm still trying to decide whether I should get purple or black crutches…what do you think?"

"Purple—black's my style…" Kendra gave her a sad smile. "I wish I could be there when you start walking—"

"Don't. It's ok. You got a family thing. I mean, come on, my own mother, Staff Sargent Jeanette Rhodes, is too busy with the Marines to help me out—"

"I'm sorry Twyla…"

"Hey, it's not a big deal—I mean, my mom has always been that way because she's dedicated to the Marines—I get that. She's just like my dad was in the Air Force." Twyla tried to sound upbeat, but there was a familiar edge of bitterness that Kendra knew she harbored against her strict mother.

"Staff Sargent Glen Wraith…" Kendra remembered Twyla showing pictures of her deceased father—another bond they shared—they both lost a father, while Kendra also lost her mother. Twyla was in the same area where her dad was killed—it was an attack on a military base. Her father went out to fight…and didn't come back…killed in action. Twyla was six when that happened as well as a large amount of the building falling onto her legs and lower back—injuring her to the point she was confined to a wheelchair even though she could move her legs—she just didn't have the strength to walk.

"Yeah, don't worry, Grandpa and Grandma Wraith are takin' care of me here—and my uncle Jim is coming down to see me."

"That's great!"

"Mmm-hmm."

There was silence, until Twyla broke it again. "Promise you'll email me everyday?"

"Of course." Kendra told her. "Promise you'll let me know how you're doing…and please don't push yourself too hard."

She smirked. "Don't you know Ken? That's all I can do."

"Twyla…"

"Ok, ok, I promise I'll take it easy." She suddenly slides out of her chair next to her friend and hugs her. "I'll miss you."

Kendra hugged Twyla back as she nodded. "Miss you too."

* * *

Kenneth puts the last box of clothing in and saw it was his. He opens the box up and smiles. He sees his father's old bandana he wore when he was a X-Man. He picks it up gently and puts it on. He felt taller as he wore his dad's headband…his dad wore it to keep his hair out of his face. Kenneth checked the length of his own hair—another inch and it would be the same length of his dad's. He sits on the edge on the trailer as he watches his tio go inside the house. He looks around and sees Kendra and Twyla were in the yard. He gets out his wallet and opens the pocket to the pictures.

He places the picture of him and his teammates away and flipped through a picture of Fleur turning 1, the family photo of his mom and her family, and stops at a yellowing photo of his parents as teenagers. His mom was sitting in his dad's lap smiling brilliantly and his dad had a lop-sided grin as he had his arms around Marisol. Kenneth smiled as he stared at the photo; they were sitting on the dock at the Institute's lake. He goes to the next photo of his parents' wedding…his mom was in a beautiful white gown and his dad holding her small hand as he placed a gold band on her finger. The next photo was all four of them, on his and Kendra's 1st birthday, his dad held both of them his strong arms as their mother was beside him with the cake. Kendra clung to their father's hair as her brother reached for the candles on the cake. Kenneth remembered climbing on his dad's arms like he was a jungle gym…and his dad holding him upside down by his ankles whenever he was about to cry—instantly making him laugh again. He turned to the most recent photo of his dad…five years ago…his last visit from the institute. His dad was sitting on their front porch in his favorite shirt and cleaning up his boots with Kendra sitting beside him and sketching him out in her sketch book—black hair in ponytails. Kenneth was sitting a step down and fixing his football…it was a month later when tio Leon and the X-Men came to their door to tell them the news…Thunderbird—John Proudstar—had jumped onto a missile set off by a terrorist called Count Nefaria…it was heading to DC…his father was super strong and fast…so he pummeled that missile until it exploded and Thunderbird fell…dead. Kenneth shoves the pictures back into his wallet as he swallowed the lump his in throat and he touched the bandana on his head.

* * *

Leon walked into the house and sees Fleur was napping in the recliner. He froze as he watched his little girl…feeling his chest tighten. His first daughter—second child…he lost his first…a little boy was about to turn two. He was tiny with hair like his, but a lighter brown. Mansi didn't know about him, it was a secret, an illegitimate child from his late teens…his first mistake… He pinched the bridge of his nose. He shouldn't be so distraught over this—it happened 20 years ago, but he was still grieving. He never let his little family see the sorrow though—no, they needed a strong man of the house—not a weak one. He was smart enough to disguise his hurt from Mansi with other pain he carried—other mistakes he made.

Leon growled at himself. _That's enough Leon old boy, today is not the day to examine the skeletons in your closet._

"Leon?" Mansi called. "Did you pack the check book?"

Leon changes his exterior quickly into a relaxed and cheerful attitude. "Yeah hon—it's in the trailer." He goes over to his daughter and picks her up. "Wake up princess."

Fleur whined as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. "No."

Leon decided to let her sleep and tells her. "Ok baby-doll, you rest and daddy'll take you to the car." He leaves the dark room behind along with his memories.

Mansi places the baby-bag into the van as Leon buckles Fleur into her car seat. Kendra and Kenneth were sitting in the back staring at the house. Mansi says. "You kids ready? It's a long trip from Texas to New York. Do you have all of your stuff?"

Kendra nods as Kenneth says. "Yeah tia."

Leon gets into the car and starts the engine as Mansi gets into her seat. "You ready for this Leon?" She asked.

Leon smirked as he pulled out of the driveway. "Yeah—I'm ready to go home."

Mansi grinned back; knowing he was referring to the Institute. "Then step on it hot-shot."

He chuckles as he revs onto the street and began their journey east.

* * *

Trinity screamed as she felt the fire burning her skin. The fire surrounded her and was creeping closer to burning her alive. Outside the ring of fire stood MRD agents pointing their weapons at her. "Fire!" Creed's voice shouts. Trinity held up her hands as the gunshots were fired and flames attacked her body.

Trinity suddenly sat up in her bed as she looked around…it was a nightmare…She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was just a nightmare…She lay back down and sees the Bamf doll next to her. She grabs it and hugs it close to her as she shut her eyes and whispered. "Just a nightmare—it's not real—not real—I'm alive…" She soon fell asleep as she chanted this.

* * *

Dominic sat up with a shout of fear. He had no idea what he was dreaming about—but whatever it was left him in a cold sweat. As soon as he woke up; Sammy jumped and cursed. "Shit!" He sits up and rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"

"Sorry: nightmare." Dominic looks at the clock and groaned when he saw it was 3:00 am.

Sammy sniffed tiredly. "You don't have nightmares a lot…right?"

"Don't worry about it."

"You want to talk about it?" He was much more awake now.

"Can't; I can't remember."

"Oh…well goodnight." Sammy flopped back onto his pillow to sleep.

"Yeah; 'night." Dominic leaned back down as he tried to shake the feelings of terror…like the night the X-Men found them…maybe that was what he dreamt about. He sighed in frustration as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Allie started awake and lay under her sheets for a second; waiting for the thing to grab her…until she realized no one was chasing her and it was a nightmare. Allie burst into tears as she remembered dreaming of the men chasing her…She sits up, wishing to call for her mom...She brings her knees to her chest and cried. She wanted her mom and dad. _Baby,_ she thought to herself. _Stop crying…it was a dream…you're not five anymore. _She still cried and wiped her face. She then got up and crept out of her room. She slipped passed all of the doors silently as she went downstairs. She needed a glass of water…and time out of her room. She tiptoed toward the kitchen and stopped when she saw the light was on. She peaks into the room and sees a man with gold curls drinking a glass of milk while reading something on his Kindle. Allie watches him and remembered his name was Sean Cassidy…Leon said he was one of Xavier's oldest students—came to the Institute in his twenties. She watched him and wondered if she would get into trouble for leaving her room. She stepped back and winced as the floorboard "creaked".

Sean looks over at her. "Whatcha' doing up girl?" His voice drifted across the room as soft as a whisper, but she could hear him clearly and perfectly.

Allie sighed. "Sorry, I was thirsty."

Sean waves her in. "Come on in then."

She walks in as he gets up and grabs her a glass. "What're you thirsty for Alicia?"

"Water please—and you can call me Allie; everyone does."

Sean smirked. "Alright then Allie, you okay?"

Allie blinked in surprise and lied. "Yeah; why?"

"I see you've been cryin'." He tells her as he sets the water on the table.

Allie sits down. "How can you tell?"

"Well, you didn't manage to dry all the tears on ya' face." He points out.

"Oh." She used her sleeve to wipe the rest of the tear stains away.

Sean watches her as he reminisced. "You look a lot like Meg."

Allie shrugs as she took a sip of her water. "Yeah—but I have my dad's hair."

"I see." He agrees as he drinks some of his milk. "How you holding up here Allie?"

She takes another sip. "I love it here."

"After only one day?"

"Yeah."

"It's okay to be a little upset, young one."

"Why would I be upset?"

"It's a big step for ya'; becoming a mutant, moving to a new place—"

"Being chased." She adds; trying not to sound pitiful.

Sean nods. "Yeah."

She squirms uncomfortably. "I miss my mom…and everyone else."

"I know. The first night here is always the hardest. You're lucky that you got your brother and sister here with ya'. And soon your cousins, aunt, and uncle too."

"That's cool…but…" She drifts off at first. "I just…feel scared."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know…I'm scared that…they'll find me…and it would start all over again."

"That is scary. But it won't happen here. Trust me."

"Yeah it's a 'safe place'…but my home was safe too…I don't know…I'm so excited to go here…but tonight…I just want to go home."

Sean takes a sip of his milk before answering. "I know the feeling; there are days when I want to go back to Cassidy manor…"

"That's your home?"

"Yeah; a nice, old mansion…stone work that was from the first generation of Cassidy's…Like those old castles in fairytales."

"Sounds sweet."

"It is." He smiles at her. "I usually wake up in the middle of the night and come down here to get my mind off my nightmares. A lot of us do that. If you need to talk to someone—I recommend Kurt or the Professor—they're great sounding boards if you need someone to talk to."

Allie stands. "Thanks Mr. Cassidy." She leaves with her water as he waves to her.

"Good night." He looks back at his Kindle as he closed the window and went online to research 'Cassidy manor' he smiled as the old, familiar building popped up on the screen.

* * *

**Author: "Whatcha' think?"**

**"Angst...angst...angst!" Brother chants.**

**"Seriously?"**

**"Are you writing a sci-fi or pulling on our heart strings? Choose!"**

**"Well, I wanted to provide some background for the Lafayettes and twins. Also, when someone (Leonardo kids) go through a traumatic experience (MRD chase), then there would be some psychological issues that would transcend through nightmares-since sleep psychology describes how dreaming is the mental filing of memories to the hippocampus and night terrors-"**

**" The readers are not here to learn about sleep psychology...what about night terrors?"**

**"Dom has one, they're nightmares children tend to have that leaves them emotionally distraught, but they cannot really remember the dream."**

**"Creepy."**

**"Yes."**

**"Hehe, I love Twyla. So awesome."**

**"Yes, yes she is a awesome oc...and yes, she is related to Jim Rhodes-he's her uncle on her mom's side."**

**"Sean is cool. These instructors are really supportive-"**

**"Why yes-"**

**"Where's the action though?"**

**"What-"**

**"The action, the adventure, the epic battles!"**

**"They're coming up. Remember origin beginnings are slow and take time."**

**"Please hurry!"**

**" We don't own Marvel or X-Men. Thank you for reading, and please review to criticize-"**

**"Or compliment."**


	12. Chapter 11: Training

Dominic and Sammy wait outside of the bathroom impatiently. Sammy groans as he knocks on the door. "Come on! Hurry up!"

"Who's in there?" Dominic grumbled as he held onto his toothbrush in frustration.

"Probably Bobby, he always spikes his hair in the morning."

"That's weird."

"Yeah." Sammy knocks again. "Come on! There's a line out here."

Hernando walks up behind them while yawning. "Yeah Drake—save some hair gel for us!"

The door opens as steam rushes out, and a woman with purple hair steps through the haze. Dominic drops his toothbrush as the other two boys gawked at Betsy—who was one of the hottest bachelorettes in the Institute—and she was only wearing a towel around her body.

"Sorry boys." She told them with an apologetic smile. "But the girls' bathroom was occupied again and I needed to shower, since the locker room showers are being repaired by Forge."

Sammy mutters. "No problem Ms. Braddock."

Dominic finally manages to speak. "Forge just fixed—"

But Hernando interrupts. "Yes, Forge is still fixing the showers—so feel free to use our bathroom anytime Miss Braddock."

"You boys are so sweet." She told them as she left.

"Why did you say—" Sammy began, but Dominic interrupts:

"Hernando, you are a genius."

"You have to be in this school." He told them as he walked into the bathroom.

Sammy groaned as the door shut. "And I was supposed to go next—figures."

Dominic suddenly feels something brush his leg and looks down to see a fluffy black cat rubbing on his leg. Dominic froze uncertainly—he was never a cat person. Sammy sees the feline and picks it up while saying. "Hey there Opal." The cat purrs as he strokes her ears.

_Figures, the fish-boy is friends with the cat. _"Opal?" Dom asked and saw the cat had brilliant blue eyes and a white spot on its chest.

"Yeah, she's Xi'an's cat; a birthday present from Professor X. We have a bunch of pets around here."

"Cats?" Dominic asked with a frown.

"Just a ginger tabby that belongs to Bobby, but he doesn't approach anyone except him. We have…" Sammy looks up at the ceiling to think. "Four dogs. A collie that belongs to Mr. Cassidy named May. Dr. MacTaggart's retriever Nessie. Extreme; Hernando's Great Dane. And Darwin—the Prof's terrier…I swear that dog is a genius—whenever I talk about breaking curfew or sneaking out he's always there—" Sammy jumps when he peers behind Dominic. Dom turns around to see an Airedale Terrier sitting behind him and watching Sammy closely. Dominic smiled as he felt homesick—wishing his mastiff Fury was with him. He knelt down and gave the dog his hand. "Hey Darwin."

The dog sniffs his hand as he lifts a paw and placed it in his hand to shake. Dominic laughed as he shook the dog's paw as the canine wore a serious expression.

"Good boy."

Darwin snorts and trots away to the bathroom door and scratches on it.

Hernando whines. "Five more minutes!"

Darwin barks and scratches the door twice, like he was telling Hernando to hurry up. He then trots over to Sammy to give him a look before leaving the boys behind.

Sammy puts Opal down as he says. "See."

* * *

Trinity wakes up and blinks against the sunlight in her room. She notices she was holding the Bamf doll and cuddled with it as she tried to fall back to sleep—until she heard a "BANG-BOOM!" Trinity jumped up from her bed with a shriek. She scrambles off the floor and into the hallway where everyone was in. She looks around fearfully, until someone teleported into the corridor. Kurt was only in his pajama pants and his hair was matted from sleep. "Don't worry—it was only Forge trying to fix the 2nd washing machine—and then blowing it up. Everything is safe—except the load of whites that was in it."

"My clothes!" Sofia whined in frustration as she hovered in her designer silk pajamas and slippers.

Trinity shook her head to clear it as Rahne asked. "How did Forge blow up the washing machine?" She wore red flannel pajamas as she tapped her foot impatiently.

Amara pips up from the doorway of her and Rahne's room wearing only a tank top and exercise shorts. "I believe we should ask 'who let Forge near the washing machines?'"

"Xi'an!" The girls call.

Xi'an walks out of her room wearing a gown and robe; half asleep. "Oui?"

"Did you let Forge do the laundry this morning?" Lorna asked, while tugging the oversized sports jersey over her thighs to remain modest.

"Oui—he wanted to help—" Xi'an was suddenly awake. "Mon deui! He started without me! Oh! He probably ruined the wash."

Kurt laughs nervously. "He blew up the wash."

Xi'an gaped and she rushes off while shouting. "Forge!" A black cat suddenly appears and chases after Xi'an while meowing for attention.

The rest of the girls shook their heads as they went back to their rooms. Trinity peers at Nightcrawler and tried not stare at him for too long; he was ripped—but not grotesquely—he was lean and…wow.

Someone else notices. A British dialect calls out. "Morning Kurt; nice jammies." Trinity turns to see a woman she hasn't met yet; she was only covered in a towel and her wet purple hair was flipped back. Kurt sees her and grins. "Gutten morgen Betsy, shouldn't you be dressed?"

Betsy smiled. "Hmm, I should say the same about you—you're giving all these girls quite a show." She turns to Trinity coyly. "Isn't that right Trinity?"

Trinity squeaked in surprise that 'Betsy' knew her name. "Uh—"

"Don't embarrass her Betsy." Kurt chastises.

Betsy shrugged. "Oh please, if anyone should be embarrassed it should be Xi'an for letting Forge near the laundry room unsupervised. Now, I'm wondering if I should go back to showering in the locker room if he's fixing the showers." She turned her attention back to Trinity. "It's great to meet another telepath. If you need anything just ask me." Her voice suddenly echoes inside of her head. _Don't be shy—Kurt does look great without a shirt._

Trinity gasped in surprise. "Th-thanks, Betsy."

Betsy nods as she leaves. "Don't mention it Trinity," She walks into her room down the hall.

Trinity glances back at Kurt who notices. "Need something Trin?"

She looked down at her fuzzy socks so she wouldn't stare and panicked when she saw she was in her cotton nightgown that was stretched over her curves in a revealing, and totally mortifying, fashion. "No—see you at breakfast." She raced into her room before he could see her flush a bright red. She threw off her gown as she thought. _Note to self—ask mom to get me larger nightgowns and a robe._

* * *

Allie heard the explosion when she was getting dressed. She pulled on her shirt and a force field lights up around her in the shape of a pyramid. Allie tried to run out of her door, but she couldn't get because of the force field. She groaned in frustration as she was able to get her hand out of the field to open the door, but she couldn't fit herself with the field out the door. She called out. "Help!" Someone walks up to her and she recognized it was Wolverine.

He was in a flannel shirt with a white wife-beater and was looking down at Allie with one brow raised. "What's wrong half-pint?"

Allie raised up her hands and motioned to the field. "I'm stuck."

"I can see that; get yourself out."

"I can't!" She complained.

"Did ya' even try?"

"Um…yeah."

"Try again."

Allie scowled at him and tried to bring the field down, but it didn't work. "See!"

Wolverine squats down to her level. "Uh-huh, I see you ain't trying hard enough."

Allie's jaw dropped as she argued. "I so am!"

"Prove it."

She shut her eyes and concentrated…when she opened her eyes the field was gone. "I did it!"

She sees Logan stood up while telling her. "See."

She scrunched her nose in annoyance, but followed him as he walked away. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"No."

"You should."

Logan grunted what was a laugh and gets out a cigarette.

Allie sees. "You shouldn't smoke—you'll get cancer."

"Thanks for the concern half-pint."

"My name's Allie."

"Alright half-pint." He responds as he lights the cigarette and the fire gets on his thumb. He blows the flame out casually as the burn disappeared and new pale skin grows over the wound. He shoves the cigarette into his mouth and strolls outside.

She follows him out.

"Why ya' following me half-pint?" He asked her as he opens the garage door.

"I don't know." She responds, and she squeals in excitement. "Can I ride on your motorcycle?" She points to the black bike in the garage.

"No." He goes over to it and gets on.

Allie walks up to him. "Please? I never got to ride a motorcycle." She notices as the motorcycle roared to life that he wasn't wearing a helmet. "You need a helmet and jacket."

Logan takes the cigarette from his mouth as he grinned at her. "Really?"

"Yeah, so if you get into an accident—"

"I don't need one." He takes another drag of the cigarette.

"But—"

"Get inside half-pint, before you miss breakfast." He throws the cigarette on the floor and speeds away on his bike. Allie watches him in amazement as she steps on the cigarette and grinds it out.

* * *

Everyone was in the kitchen eating breakfast when Trinity came down. She looks around the room and finds a seat in between Jean and a man with dark brown eyes. Betsy walks in, clothed and dry, and sits across from Trinity. Jean smiles at Trinity. "Morning,"

The magenta energy showed up around her forehead as she lifted her hand. Magenta energy surrounds the platter of pancakes as it lifted into the air and brought to her. No one, except for Allie and Dom, stared at the platter; showing how ordinary telekinesis was at the table. Trinity took a few pancakes. "Thanks Jean."

She glances at the man next to her and sees his aura was a dark orange with purple edges. He suddenly turns to her to say. "Staring is considered rude."

Trinity tensed uncomfortably. "Sorry!"

"'Don't apologize; it's a sign of weakness'." He tells her as he turns back to eating with a small smirk.

Trinity recognized the saying; her uncle always told her that. Betsy notices her distress and told her. "Don't worry about Shiro; he's particular about manners."

"I'm still sitting here Miss Braddock." He tells her as he sips his drink. "And I'm particular about manners because the children lack them—as well as the adults."

Betsy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes." He tersely answered.

Pink energy appears around Betsy's head in the outline shaped like a butterfly. Trinity blinks in surprise as Betsy glanced at Kurt. Trinity gasped when the energy flowed over and appeared around his head causing him to jump a little, but remains still like he was listening to something. He then grins mischievously as he picks up a straw from the table and rips one end of the paper covering off. He puts the ripped end to his lips and blew. The paper shot off and hit Shiro's forehead when he was drinking; making him sputter out his water. Trinity gaped and tried not to laugh.

Shiro narrowed his eyes at Kurt. "Feeling lucky Wagner?"

Nightcrawler shrugged his shoulders playfully. "Sorry herr Shiro—I guess I'm just as bad as the kids."

Shiro rolled his eyes and turned to Betsy. "Woman—you are worse than the children."

She grinned innocently. "Really?"

Shiro stood up as he told Trinity. "I thank God that you manage to act your age Trinitia-san—perhaps you can teach Betsy and Kurt to do the same?"

Trinity bit her lip to keep from smiling. "I'm not sure if I could sir."

He snorts. "Yes, it is a hopeless feat I suppose." He gets up and gets out his phone as he leaves. Betsy and Kurt snickered, but Trinity noticed Jean was staring at Betsy and the energy appeared around her head again. Trinity looks around, but no one seems to notice. The magenta energy appeared around Betsy's head and she looks up at Jean and the energy softened into the butterfly shape and turned pink. Trinity watched as the energy remained around the women's foreheads and wondered what it meant.

* * *

Jean sent Betsy a telepathic message: _Shiro is right, you must learn how to be mature about your powers._

_It was just a bit of fun._ Betsy thought back as she took a drink of her orange juice.

_I don't want the students thinking that it's alright to misuse their powers—_

_What harm will that do? _Betsy interrupts.

_Well, we have a girl who can manipulate emotions, a boy who can shatter objects with sonic bursts, and a little girl who is just as playful as you._

_Sounds fun._

_Betsy—_

_Don't worry, I'll be more cautious. You sound like Scott you know._

_Oh please, I do not._

_Yes you do—Jean you are such a mother hen to the students._

_No I am not._

_Yes you are—weren't you lecturing Bobby last night about staying in his room?_

_The students have separate quarters for a reason—_

_Oh let him have his fun with Lorna._

_I'm not having this conversation. _Jean shudders. _I do not want to know what those two are up to._

_Alright, let's talk about what you and Scott are up to._

_Let's not and say we did._

_Are you sure about this wedding? _Betsy made sure to look directly into Jean's green eyes with her blue ones._  
_

_Of course I'm sure._

_Logan isn't._

_Don't._ Jean stabs her fork into her pancake.

_You need to talk to him._

_He knew from day one here that I was Scott's girl. That's all there is to it._

_Is it? We both know it's not that simple. You really care about him. And he cares about you—they both do._

_I know—I never meant for this to happen…_

_Well that's good…so how're you going to fix it?_

_Tell Logan the truth…_

_Well you've done that and it didn't work so well._

_I don't know. I love Scott…Logan…Logan's different._

_Aren't we all? _

* * *

Logan walks into the Institute with a pack of beers and sees Shiro walk pass with water all over his shirt. Logan asks him in Japanese: "What happened to you?"

Shiro was on the phone and tells him. "Ask Betsy and Kurt." he then resumes his conversation on the phone. "Aimi, I know you miss me—but I won't be home until next month. Yes, papa loves you."

Logan walks into the room and Dominic cranes his neck as the feral mutant went through the next door to the kitchen. Allie notices as well. "I was wondering where he went."

Ororo sat beside her eating fruit salad. "Logan enjoys going off on his own Allie."

Allie grins. "Well I better make sure I talk to him while he's still here."

She jumps out of her chair and races into the kitchen. Dominic sighed in frustration and followed her. "Allie! Leave him alone—"

Allie races up to Logan who was opening a beer. He sees her and raised his brows. "Whatcha' doing half-pint?"

Allie places her hands behind her back. "Nothing—can I ask you some questions Mr. Logan?"

"No." He tells her.

Dominic walks up to his sister and gives her a nudge. "Come on Alicia—let him have his breakfast."

"Beer isn't breakfast." Allie commented as she turned her attention back on Wolverine. "You're really good at fighting—the MRD, I mean."

Logan mutters. "Yeah."

She takes a step toward him. "Could you teach me how to fight like that?"

"Don't you have training session kid?"

"Not until 10:30 with Prof. Xavier."

"How 'bout you get ready for it." He hints at her.

Dominic sighed. "Good idea." He tried to bring his sister with him, but she shakes him off while asking:

"Are your claws real? Or are they a part of your gloves?"

Dominic groaned when he saw Logan's brow frown at Allie.

"Jesus Allie—you don't ask people about their claws." He whispered to his little sister.

"How sharp are they?" She inquired.

Logan kneels down so he was face-to-face with her. "Listen half-pint—"

"Yes?" She was excited and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You don't need to know about my claws—if yer lucky you never have to see them." He tells her this in a grave tone of voice.

"But I want to see them!" She explains. "They're so cool—"

Dominic face-palmed himself as he pulled her out of the room. "Sorry sir—she was dropped on her head when she was a baby."

She complained. "No I wasn't! Let go! See you later Mr. Logan." Dominic brings Allie back into the dining room.

Logan frowned at the prospect as he goes over and sits on the counter to wait for Jean.

* * *

Trinity got up with her plate as Jean goes with her and tells her. "You have a training session with the Professor and me this morning."

Trinity exhaled slowly through her nose. "Ok…"

"Don't be nervous—we're simply trying to teach you ways to control your powers. You'll do fine." Jean consoles her as they walk into the kitchen.

She nods and stops when she felt the familiar aura of Logan. She and Jean turn to see Logan leaning against the counter watching them. Trinity tasted the tension and heat that went off between Jean and Wolverine, and the emotions made her redden. She rushes over to the sink and rinses her plate while trying not to look at Logan. He nods to Jean. "Mornin' Jeanie."

"Good morning Logan." She greets him calmly, but Trinity could feel her anxiety.

Trinity stared down at her hands as she rinsed the syrup from the plate. She didn't like being so close to Logan—sure he was her savior back at the alleys, but his emotions were raw…it was like being next to a fire—it felt nice, but it seethed.

Logan watched Jean—knowing he lost his chance to be able to talk to her, since she was watching Trinity. He glanced at the girl. He could smell her anxiety along with Jean's. He watched the kid nervously clean her plate; wondering if she was afraid of him. He sees that the water was on hot and becoming warmer without the girl noticing. He reaches over to turn it down. Trinity jumped when his sleeve brushed her arm and dropped the plate in the sink. She gasped and fumbled with the cracked plate as Logan shut off the water. "It's alright kid, it's just an old plate."

She was still tensed as she peered at him. "I'm sorry."

"Why you apologizing?" He asked her. He saw her eyes were black. He analyzed her: _She's scared…don't know why…I heard them talkin' about training—the kid must be terrified to exercise her powers. Being next to me ain't helpin'._He pushes away from the counter, while telling Jean. "I'm off, I'll see you later Jeanine." As he left he tells the girl. "Hey kid."

She turns to him and he tells her:

"Take it easy."

"Yes sir."

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"Yes…Logan…"

* * *

Jean leads Trinity to the Professor's office. She kept glancing at her. She had her arms crossed tightly in front of her and her hair was down to hide her face. She hoped that the training would help Trinity's confidence. She did so well last night and at breakfast…Logan though…she was nervous around him. Then again, a lot people were. Strangely, Allie was not the least bit intimidated by the feral mutant, which was now the amusing joke at the Institute.

They walk into the reception area where Xi'an sat at her desk typing on the computer. She was dressed in a sundress and her hair was styled fashionably. Her round face broke into a smile. "Good morning ladies. Hi Trinity."

Trinity smiled back. "Hey."

Xi'an stopped typing to clasp her hands together and tell her. "The Professor is ready for you—don't worry it's more of a therapy session."

Trinity frowned. "Oh."

Jean places a comforting hand on her shoulder to give her a little push and says. "Go ahead."

She takes a few deep breaths and walks over to the door and knocks.

"Come in." The Professor says.

She walks in. "Hello Professor Xavier."

The prof. was sitting at his desk and looked up from his work with a smile. "Hello Trinity." He motions to a chair in front of the desk. "Please sit down."

She does as she's told and crosses her arms. She scans the room and sees the walls had shelves of books and pictures. She also saw a terrier sitting and watching her She looks at the Professor. "Miss Coy Mahn said this is a therapy session?"

"More or less." He answered her. "We can talk about whatever you want, you can choose to revisit any memories you wish, or I can answer any questions you have."

As he said this, a sudden beeping went off like a pager. The Professor tilts his head and blue energy surrounded his forehead. Trinity watched as the energy flowed passed her and through the door; wondering if the Professor was contacting Miss Grey, Miss Coy Mahn, or both. She sees the dog trot up to her and lift a paw to her. Trinity grinned and took the dog's paw and shook it. She then wondered if she could see animals' auras. She concentrated and saw a light yellow aura like the sun. The aura was so friendly and loyal…she placed a loving hand on the terrier's head and petted him—instantly feeling better. Professor Xavier speaks up. "That is my dog Darwin—he's a great companion and you'll see him a lot around the institute—he's my eyes and ears so to speak." The professor grinned in amusement as Darwin walked away to the door, stood on its hind legs, and used his paws to clumsily paw at the door knob. As soon as the door opened, he strolled out.

The Professor heads toward the door as well. "Trinity, I'm afraid that I have to cut our session short—there has been a hit on Cerebro I must check on…" He thinks a moment. "Would you like to see Cerebro?"

Trinity thinks for a moment and remembering her uncle mentioning the advance machine. "You use it to find mutants…right?"

The Professor nods. "Yes, Forge created it for me, and I've been using it to track and find mutants that may need my help." Trinity follows him into the elevator as they go underground. She looks around as she remembers the clinic—she shuddered. The Professor notices. "You do not have to come if you're uncomfortable."

Trinity shook her head. "I'm ok…just…still getting used to things sir."

The Professor watches her for a moment and then continues on his way. "I know a lot has happened in such a short time Trinity, but we will help you through this."

_Well…there's a lot help me through._ She thought to herself as they walk over to a door labeled: **Cerebro**

The Professor looks into a glowing blue panel with both eyes for a moment, until it beeps and the doors slide open. He rolls in and she follows. She stopped as she looked around—the room had no corners—it was completely circular. The room was lined with shimmering metal panels and the only source of light was from the ceiling. Trinity realized that she and the professor were on a bridge that led to a metal disk in the center of the room where a control panel sat. Professor Xavier was in front of the panel and was placing a strange silver helmet on his head. The helmet had two metal coils attached to it that connected to the panel. Trinity walked behind him and asked. "Is there anything I could—"

"Just hold still." He told her calmly. The doors slid closed behind them and the light went off. Trinity gasped as hundreds of pinpoints of light showed up around her and the professor. She saw the metal panels were glowing and projecting the lights. She looked at the professor and saw that his control panel had a holograph screen, which projected a map of the world. She saw that the image was focusing and zooming in on the United States, and then to Kentucky. She sees the lights around her move quickly and grow. She peered at one light that was closest to her that was yellow with green edges. The light danced around and she could feel its warmth, as if it was alive—

_That is the mind of Sam Guthrie_. The Professor's voice echoed inside her head. _He is around your age, and has ten siblings. He had just used his powers accidentally when he was arguing with his stepfather. He had just discovered his mutant powers last month, and I have been keeping an eye on him and his family. His mother is reluctant to send him here._

Trinity stared at the light in amazement. She peered at the screen and saw it was on Sam Guthrie's file. There was a picture of a thin boy with blond hair and green eyes. The file disappeared and the map of the U.S. showed back up as it zoomed in on New Jersey. The lights spun around them and then slowed. Trinity turned around when she felt a familiar aura. She saw a periwinkle light edged with gold. She lifted her hand to the light. _Cara?_

She stopped before she could touch the light; not sure what would happen if she did.

_Go ahead, it is only a projection of what I see. _Professor Xavier tells her telepathically.

Trinity lightly touches the orb of light and it glowed. She then cups her hands together to hold it. _Cara, it's me._ She smiled; it felt like she was right next to her baby sister. She then closed her eyes, and felt her emotions of peace and happiness grow.

Charles notices Trinity's emotional state become calmer and happier, and almost lost his concentration on Cara's mind when the orbs in the room started swaying around by themselves to surround Trinity. He watched in amazement as the lights—the projections of people's minds—swirled around her. The orb that represented Cara glowed brighter and he could sense her mind filling with glee. Her emotions spanned through Cerebro and touched each human mind he was connected to. Charles was shocked that Trinity could affect people's emotions through Cerebro—without even being connected to it. He detaches his mind from Cara's as he turned off the system. The projections of lights blinked away as the light came on and Cerebro turned off. Trinity opened her eyes in surprise. "Did I—did I do something wrong?"

He smiled. "No Trinity, but your powers were reaching out to every mind I was connected to in Cerebro. What you did was rare and extraordinary. But I'm afraid we need to train you before you could revisit Cerebro to be safe."

Trinity sighed. "Yes sir."

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to reschedule our session for tomorrow. I need to call the Guthries and set up an appointment. You can begin your training with Jean though."

Trinity was glad that therapy was put off for tomorrow, but now she had to exercise her powers with Jean.

* * *

Dominic followed Storm to the Danger room and he grinned in excitement.

Ororo sees his grin and tells him. "I'm afraid you won't be able to use any of our obstacles today—we are simply going to test the force of your sonic booms."

Dominic shrugs. "Ok, but how're you going to measure them?"

Storm flew up to the control room. "Forge will explain."

The speakers were on. "Hey Dom—alright, all you need to do is hold still. And don't panic."

The floor shifted as walls lifted from the floor to surround Dominic. He looks around and sees a ceiling had formed above with a crack to let in some light. Dom shouts. "It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic Forge—maybe a better warning next time."

"Yeah." Forge answers. "I made the mistake of locking Ororo in a box…she destroyed half the Danger room."

Storm's voice answers darkly. "I've told you I do not like tight spaces."

"I said I was sorry—OW—no shocking me! You'll mess up my arm tech." Forge whines, and Dominic wondered what was going on. "Ok Dom, just give us your best sonic booms, and the walls will measure it with the sensors I put in. Let's start with your left arm."

Dominic lifts his left hand and concentrates. The energy trembled around his hand and then shot off in a sonic burst. The force crashed into the wall in front of him, but it also knocked him back against the wall behind him and onto the floor.

Storm calls out on the speakers. "Are you alright Dominic?"

Dom stands up; unharmed as usual. "Yeah."

Forge's voice chirps up. "Great job Dom, now your right arm, then your left and right leg separately, then your legs together, and your arms together…"

Dominic did as he was told while smashing up the walls and crashing around in the box like a bouncy ball on steroids.

"Amazing!" Forge comments. "Now just one more thing—"

"Ah come on." Dominic groaned.

"It's just one more. Okay, make your hands face each other in front of you."

He does as Forge says.

"Good. Now concentrate and create the energy slowly to mold a sonic burst!"

"Forge, he's not trained enough for—" Ororo began, but Dominic was already starting.

He made sure his palms were facing each other as he focused—thinking of forming the energy into an orb. His hands vibrated, but he made sure not to shoot the sonic blasts. He started to sweat from the exertion as his whole frame was shaking. He watched in amazement as the energy was becoming visible—it was actually becoming a concentrated orb of sonic—"BOOM!"

The orb of energy exploded with enough force to throw Dominic back and pop his ear drums. He blinked his eyes open and gawked—the blast dented the walls and the ceiling was gone.

Forge was laughing in amazement to Ororo. "Did you see that! The readings are off the charts with that blast! They're just as strong as Scott's optic blasts—hell those sonic booms can cause a lot damage because they aren't concentrated—"

"What level do you think he is Forge?" She asked him before he could ramble anymore.

"Uh—let's see, my level systems will put him between levels 3 and 4. He would be a four once he masters his abilities."

Storm sees the sensors received a lot of force from the blasts and asked. "Would he be considered Omega mutant'?"

"Well, if I remember the Professor's teachings—Dominic would be considered Omega since he's invulnerable and can create sonic energy. Invulnerability is the reason he'd be considered Omega over Alpha. When he grows up—he's going to be freakin' powerful."

Ororo nods. "That is a lot power for a young boy."

"Well, we all thought the same about you Miss Omega—"

"Alpha—I have limits with my weather manipulation." She corrected him shyly. "I tire out too quickly."

"Whatever—you're a class four in my book." He answers.

"What of Dominic's sisters?"

Forge thinks for a moment. "We'll find out about Allie next—but seeing that she could create force fields that deflect bullets and psionic power—she's definitely class three. Not so sure what type of mutant she is yet. Cara…being precognitive is powerful…but that's more of a Delta mutant like myself. Trinity…hard to tell, but she can give both Jean and the Prof. a hard time—she's a class four…most likely a Gamma or even a Epsilon-Delta…depends how much she uses her powers…Gamma—because her powers make life harder for her to function if she can't repress them—Epsilon-Delta, like Xi'an…because her powers flare in times of stress and remain dormant in calm moments."

"I think Gamma is more appropriate…though like all mutants—her powers would flare in times of trauma." Storm answers.

Forge nods and speaks into the microphone to Dominic. "Alright, great job Dom. We're done."

Dominic shouts back from the remains of the metal box. "Thanks…how am I getting out of here?"

* * *

Trinity sits in Jean's room on the floor; crossing her legs like Jean. Jean had a candle in front of them—unlit. Trinity looked at the candle nervously. She hoped that it would stay unlit—but that was not going to happen. Jean senses her nerves. "Don't worry Trinity—this fire won't go out of control."

Trinity glowered at her. "I don't like fire…"

Jean catches a thought from Trinity—a loud one that she couldn't help hear:

A memory of fire burning Trinity's skin, fear, and sadness. _Why are you doing this to me!_

Jean inhales sharply and stares at Trinity in astonishment. Why didn't Meg mention this? Did the Professor know? She reaches over and touches Trinity's hand. The girl pulls away. Jean tells her. "I know you're afraid…but if you don't face this now…when will you?"

Trinity peers at her with her brown eyes. The brown irises darkened into black and it spread throughout her eyes like ink spreading through paper. "I don't know…when can I go home?"

Jean gets out a lighter and shows it to her. "This exercise will be able to help you—to teach you how to control your emotions from affecting others as well yourself. Trust me, this exercise taught me how to control my telekinesis and helped me block out every person's thoughts from invading my mind. When you learn how to control your powers—you'll be able to go home."

Trinity looks down at the candle and gulped. "Ok…I'll…do it."

Jean lifts the lighter with her telekinesis and explains. "The object of this training session is meditation and being able to control your emotions and calm your inner spirit. Fire, as well as other elements, can be disturbed by psionic forces—especially thought and emotion. You have to remain calm—if not the flame will sputter like your inner self and go out. Make the flame stand still—don't let your emotions disturb it." The lighter clicks a couple of times until it lit the candle. The flame danced on the wick and Trinity cringed as it sputtered wildly and hissed smoke.

"Remain calm—it won't hurt you—and your feelings of dread and anxiety are causing it to react in such a way." Jean tells her calmly; emerald eyes watching her closely.

Trinity shut her eyes as she fought away the painful memories of fire. She remembered when she was five—explosions of orange fire and black smoke. Then Sophie and the apartment fire—the smoke choking her. The blaze at the bookstore. Trinity felt her head hurt as she tried to concentrate. _It can't get me. I'm safe. I won't be burned. I won't be burned._ Trinity opened her eyes to see the shaking flame flare. She gasped and it suddenly sputtered out; leaving only a thin wisp of grey smoke and a smoldering wick. Jean watches the candle and then looked into Trinity's eyes. "The first time is always the hardest, you were very brave Trinity. I could read how much you wanted to leave the room. We can try again—"

"No. Please, no more." Trinity begs as she stood up and left, while covering her mouth to keep from smelling the smoke.

* * *

Allie laughs as she creates a thousand different pink orbs with her mind. Miss Munroe and Kurt watched her with amused smirks as the girl showed off to them. Forge was up in the control room of the Danger Room mapping the progress with the Professor. Allie had already created a giant sphere, a cylinder, a pyramid, a cube, and a bunch of prisms as the Professor tried to break through telepathically and Kurt tried to push his way through with a bunch of different kicks and hits. Of course they didn't get through, but whenever she felt strained she would tell them and they would stop. The Professor's voice echoes through the room. "Well done Allie, you can take a break now. We're finished."

Allie let the spheres disappear and inquired. "How did I do?"

Kurt smirked at the girl. "You did great haschen. Before you know it, you'll be an X-Man."

Allie swelled with pride. Storm frowned though and glanced at Kurt disapprovingly. "She did very well," Kurt notices her look and tilts his head questionably.

Scott suddenly walks into the Danger room, for once not wearing his X-Man uniform and wearing his ruby sunglasses instead of a visor. "Allie, Moira would like to do a check-up on you in the clinic."

"Ok, I know where it is." She rushed off as she waved to Storm and Nightcrawler and Scott followed her.

Kurt turns to Ororo. "What is it Ororo?"

"What is what?" She asked, breaking her gaze from Allie's retreating form.

Kurt raised a brow. "Why the disapproving glance at my comment?" His tail twirled behind him playfully.

Ororo understood. "You saw that Kurt?"

"Liebchen, who didn't? What is bothering your tranquil mind?"

Storm answered in all honesty. "I wish that you do not encourage Allie to join the team. She is only ten years old—too young to battle the Brotherhood or anyone for that matter. She already wants to be an X-Man…you encouraging her…I worry that she would become one too soon."

Kurt smiled at her. "The Professor and Scott would never put haschen in any danger. You're being awfully maternal Ororo."

"Maternal? You are just as attached to her—calling her 'haschen' and showing off your circus tricks."

Kurt rolled his eyes, but one could never tell with the gold orbs whether they were even moving. "Well, speaking of tricks, didn't you fly her around?"

Storm grinned. "Alright, maybe I am a bit protective of Allie…she's just so young and bright. I do not wish to see her hurt."

"No one does Ororo." The Professor tells them as he approaches. "Do not worry, Allie has a long way to go before she can go on any missions." He paused and as if he heard something and chuckled. "Oh dear, Moira has just found out—"

* * *

"Yer skin is impenetrable." Moira sighed as she gazed forlornly at the bent up needle in her hand. "So, taking ya' blood is out of the question."

Dominic grinned sheepishly. "That's too bad."

Moira snorts a laugh. "Ah yes, poor you, you won't be sticked with needles or vaccinations. We'll just have to use nasal-spray vaccines for you."

Dominic chortled in relief as he hops off the clinic bed and looked around the room. "My mom spent a lot time down here?"

Moira nods. "Yes, she and Hank were my most frequent visitors—they loved learning about genetics and medical practices. They even helped me with some of my patients—including my most frequent visitor Scott—"

"Come on Moira, I wasn't in here that much." Scott's voice interrupts from the door as he ushered Allie in.

Moira placed her hands on her hips. "Please, you were a daily visitor because you worked yerself to death in that Danger Room."

Scott shrugged. "Training needs to happen, Moira."

Moira shook her head as Allie hops onto the table. "There's training and there's overworking yourself Scott Summers." She told him. "I swear, you, Leon, and Logan are just as bad—and now Kurt, Bobby, and Betsy are spending all of their free time in that death-trap with Forge—"

"Come on Moira, the Danger Room is a training facility, not a—"

"Yes, yes, I know. But be sure to keep the children out of there." She scolds him as she gets out a large needle and tubing. Allie paled as gaped at the materials and tried to sneak out of the clinic.

Scott notices and stops her. "Allie, you need to get your blood drawn."

"Uh, can I pass?"

Scott shook his head and led her back over to Moira. The doctor gives her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry lass, just hold your breath and then let out when the needle goes in—it'll hurt less."

Allie scrutinized the needle. "I doubt that."

Moira swabs Allie's arm—making her have goose bumps from the cool alcohol on her skin as well as her fear of the needle. Moira was about to bring the needle toward her skin, but suddenly stopped and sighed. Allie had subconsciously placed a force field around herself and she couldn't get through to her. Allie smirks shyly as she put her hands behind her back innocently. Dominic tells Scott and Moira. "Yeah, this is gonna take a while."

* * *

Trinity leaned against the counter after dinner and waited for John nervously. She wore a sway jacket, her best jeans, pulled her hair back, and touched up her makeup. She waited as people came and went. Bobby sees her and gives her a grin to tell her John was just coming back from—somewhere.

John walks into the kitchen and sees Trinity. "You ready?" He was chewing on a match stick like it was a toothpick.

She stood up and followed him to the doorway. "Where are we going?"

He places an arm in front of her against the door frame and she was stuck in the doorway with him smirking down at her. "You want to ruin the surprise?"

She watches him and ducks under his arm before she could grow too anxious. "Nope, let's go."

She hears him chuckle and he leads her outside. It was dark and Trinity realized they didn't have flashlights. "Oh, I guess I should've brought some flashlights—"

"We don't need any." He takes the match stick from his mouth and lights it. Trinity watches the small orange flame grow as her anxiety grew with it. Not again.

John notices. "What's wrong?"

"Uh—not a big fan of matches…" She gulped as she wrapped her arms around herself to remain calm as Jean coached and watched as the flame sputtered.

He raised an eyebrow. "You know what my power is?"

She shook her head as she tried not to stare at the flickering flame. The fire suddenly flew off the match and spun around John. She gasped as it went into his hand and flared. "Pyro-kinesis."

Trinity felt herself pale. "You control fire?"

"Yeah. You control emotions right?"

"Right." She needed to stay calm as she warily watched the dancing fire in his palm.

He moves his hand and the fireball grew and transformed into a bird. It flew away from him and around her. Trinity closed her eyes tightly in fear as it flew around her.

John tells her. "It's alright girl; look."

Trinity slowly opened her eyes and saw the bird fluttering in front of her innocently. She didn't feel as frightened when it flew away from her and toward the forest, and lets out a pint up sigh of relief that it was away from her. John nods for her to follow. "Come on girl. Don't be scared of a little fire."

Trinity shook her head as she slowly breathed.

He walks over to her and asks. "You want to go inside?"

She looks up at him and shook her head once more. "No, I'm coming."

He grins at her. "Hot and brave—looks like I've hit the jackpot."

Trinity blushed as they went toward the woods. "Why are we going into the forest?"

"It's fun to walk around at night." He winks at her. "Maybe we can get lost?"

Trinity smiled back. "You wish."

John laughs. "Well, I like a girl who has some bite to her."

"Does your girlfriend have bite to her?" She asked him; wondering if that's where he's been. She was surprised how fast she liked him—it was comfortable—and she felt like her old self around him.

"I don't know; do you?" He asks her slyly.

"This is a date?"

"Could be more…" He leans against a tree trunk as she made it to the forest's edge.

"You work fast." She muttered as her heart hammered, but she liked being back in her old persona: the passionate fun-lover.

John examines her as the firebird fluttered around him in brilliant flames of orange and gold; casting shadows on him:

"I live in the moment—life's too short to take it slow." He walks up to her and looks down at her with a lazy smile. "Don't you agree?"

Trinity gazes up at him and suddenly thought about her Jamie…he wasn't anything like John: he was calculating, sarcastic, and patient. She steps around him. "No, I like to take things slow."

John shrugs. "I can wait Trinity." He walks into the forest. She takes a deep breath and waits a moment before following him. She tripped a couple times on weeds and tree roots she could barely see. She looks around and sees the shadows of trees tower over her. The night sky had enough stars to let her see, but she couldn't spot John or the fire—feeling both relieved and scared that she couldn't see the firebird.

She crept through the forest as she called. "John, I can't see you—"  
She froze when she heard something. It was the small, sharp sound of a twig snapping. She looked around. "John?" She felt a cold sweat break though her back as she heard a soft growl. She didn't like this—she was too afraid to look for his aura—afraid that she would find someone else's.

She thought she heard a branch creak near her and turned to look, hoping to see a silhouette of a tree and nothing else. She screamed when she turned into someone. She was about to run, but the man curses and she recognized who it was. "Mr-Mr. Cassidy?" She saw Sean was holding his heart as he nods:

"Yeah, it's me Trinity. God, you scared me to death girl." He soon calms down as he turns on a flashlight to illuminate himself and Trinity. "Moira and I were heading back from our date when we saw your light." He raises his voice. "So you better get over here John."

They hear someone approach and see John with his orb of fire. Sean points the flashlight into his face. "You should know better than to go into the woods at night."

John scowled. "We were still on the grounds."

Sean shook his head. "You know that you should stay inside at night unless you have adult permission. Come on inside you two." Sean leads them inside as Trinity held herself together and stayed close to Sean and far away from John as they go inside. Before they leave the forest, John extinguishes the fire and glares at a tree to his left in frustration, but finally leaves.

* * *

Sabretooth was close to catching his prey as he stayed crouched in the tree. The Leonardo girl was directly below him and he could have tackled her in one pounce, but Banshee showed up and took his chance away. He growled in annoyance; his inside man delivered the girl to him, but she managed to slip passed. He then chuckled to himself as he climbed through the branches. He should be happy the hunt wasn't over yet, and that he actually had a challenge. He smelt the hat again and grinned sadistically. It was going to be fun to lure Trinity Leonardo out and completing the job—if he was lucky Wolverine would be there to see. The runt always got worked up when a woman or child was… 'hurt' in his presence. He happily fantasized about the bloody battles he and Wolverine would deal out against each other—to the death…well, death wasn't an option for either of them…but he always enjoyed his fights with Logan. Sabretooth turned to watch the institute and could smell the girl's fear from his perch—he wondered what her blood tasted like and what her panting shrieks would sound like as she ran from him. He then imagined the look on the X-Men's faces when they find her corpse and his grin widened. "Logan…you are in for a surprise, you and your new X-Girl."

* * *

**Author: "whew...These chapters keep getting longer."**

**Brother: "Yep, so we are trying to make this short. I bet you all are throwing your hands in the air about John and shouting: "Of Course!", b/c that's what I did when she first told me this story."**

**"It's true. And yes, Trinity does have pyrophobia, but she's working through it. I had so much fun writing about Cerebro. Trin can connect with others through Cerebro on a emotional level...and sees the mind's auras. Sabretooth has begun his hunt...he's so creepy. If you guys have any questions, don't be afraid to ask."**

**"We don't own Marvel, and Taliym5 got the mutant levels from Brian singer's X-Men, Yahoo, and Wikipedia (All right reserved to them). Please review. We love reviews."**

**"Thanks!"**


	13. Chapter 12: Hunted

**The Xavier's Institute them song is _Explosive _by Bond. (All rights reserved to Bond.)**

* * *

Trinity felt nervous as she sat in the family room with Hernando, Bobby, and Lorna. Sofia was watching the movie with them, but she decided to grab them some popcorn. Trinity sat next to Hernando, who had an arm around her and she felt serene beside them as they watched _Transformers._ She hears someone clear their throat. She feels John's aura before she sees him and turns around to see he was in the doorway and motioning to her to follow him. Unsure, she turned to see what the audience watching them had to say. Lorna shrugged her shoulders, Bobby nodded enthusiastically for Trin to go, and Hernando shook his head and pouted.

Trinity gets up and Hernando groaned as Bobby laughed, and Lorna was sure to tell the boys to shut up. Trinity goes over to John and they walk down the hall together, until he stopped and faced Trinity. "Hey, I'm sorry about our walk going so wrong."

Trinity shrugged, trying to act indifferent, but that was foolish to do seeing that she avoided John for two days. It wasn't even about getting caught, it was just the fact he controlled fire. Also, her therapy sessions with the Professor had left her teary-eyed and tired, but she would be lying if she said they weren't helping her. Luckily, today she didn't have to talk to the Professor about her emotions and trauma because he, Dr. MacTaggart, and Betsy went to California to visit an old student named Warren about his "wings". Unfortunately, today she had to go to the Danger Room and have her powers scanned by the tech. Dominic and Allie told her that Danger Room training wasn't so bad, but she was still wary of it.

John gazed at her for a moment and said. "You've been avoiding me."

She looked away from him; feeling guilty. "No, just been busy with therapy."

"I really am sorry about what happened." He tells her earnestly. Trinity felt his disappointment about the walk and believed him.

"It's alright." She gives him a shy smile.

John smirks back. "So, I hear you have a Danger Room session today?"

Trinity paled. "Uh, yeah, I'm a little nervous about it…it's at 12:30."

"Well you better go down there now, it helps to show up early and see what you have to do. Also, Wolverine gets edgy when anyone shows up late."

Trinity decided to listen to his advice and heads over to the elevator. "Thanks John,"

"No problem, break a leg Trinity." He grins at her as he watches her go.

When he turns around he sees Sofia holding a giant bowl of popcorn.

He nods to her. "Hey Sofia."

"Hi John," She finally answered. "Listen, about Trinity—"

"Great isn't she?" He leaned against the wall. "But, I don't think that's why you're here; so spit it out Sofia."

She tells him in a serious tone. "Don't mess around with her John; she's a nice girl."

"We're just friends." He tells her coolly as watched her in amusement.

"I mean it John." She tells him as a breeze flows through; ruffling her long hair. She goes into the family room. John went on his way.

He sees Nightcrawler, and was about to pass him, but Kurt asked. "John, have you seen Trinity?"

John lied smoothly. "I think she's in her room; why? Going on another tour?" He gives his instructor a patronizing grin.

Kurt scrutinizes him and teleports away, while saying. "Thank you John."

John continued on his way, while whistling casually.

* * *

Trinity walks down the metal corridor and sees the Danger Room door was open to show a dark room. She peeked into the room and sees there was a light on near the ceiling. She sees it's a control room. She steps into the room and wonders if she needed to be in the control room, but how could she get up there? _Maybe there are stairs I can use, but I can't see a thing from here. _She takes a few steps into the room and feels that there was someone in the control room. "Hello?" She recognized Forge's neon blue and green aura. "Forge! How do I—"

She jumped when the door slid shut behind her and the lights snapped on. She covered her eyes as she tried to get used to the light. Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath her.

Forge had his ear phones on as his IPod blared Pendulum's "Blood Sugar" into his ears. He was on his back under the control panel rewiring, trying to hurry because Scott told him there was a session in fifteen minutes. He checked his watch and saw he running out of time, so he hurried and reconnected the wires—knowing a few simulations would start up and he crossed his fingers they wouldn't do any damage to the room he just fixed.

Floors began to elevate from the ground and towed around her. Trinity's jaw dropped as she saw floors rise and lower and she tried to stay on her feet. She hears something and sees a strange gun-like object rise from the floor. It started heating up and it swiveled toward her. She screamed as she dodged the lasers shooting out and ran for her life. She tried hiding behind the elevated floors and walls, but more laser cannons would show up and try to blast her. She ran over to the door, but it wouldn't budge. She turned as a laser narrowly missed her arm. She raced away once more, while screaming. "HELP!"

* * *

Wolverine was walking toward the Danger Room and heard a girl screaming as laser blasts echoed behind the doors. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He could smell who was on the other side. "Kid!" he shouted. He gets out his claws and sliced through the door to see the fan blades lifted from the floor and start to corner Trinity. He runs over, and slices the blades into slivers. Trinity cowered in the corner as he was about to help her up—only to be constricted by metal coils. Logan snarled as shocks of electricity raced through him and he chopped his way out. He leaps forward and picks up Trinity while dodging more laser and electric blasts. "FORGE!" he yelled, but the mechanic couldn't hear or see him. Wolverine moves her onto his back and she clings to him as he gets out his claws and used them to climb up a escalated floor that was right in front of the control room. As soon as he made it to the top, he leaps up and stabbed his claws into the window, which cracked from the force, but remained intact because of their special design.

Forge sat up in surprise when the control room shook, and got up to see Wolverine with his claws buried into the glass and shouting. "TURN THIS SHIT OFF!"

Forge does as he told and opens a side widow and helps them in. "What—"

Logan growled. "Don't say one word Forge—" He grabs Forge by the collar and ordered. "Downstairs. Now."

A few moments later, they were back in the Danger Room along with Kurt, Jean, and Scott. The adults argued as Forge tried to turn off all the systems, since a hundred different holograms were going off. Forge was typing on a tablet as fast as he could, and Wolverine rumbled. "How the hell couldn't you hear her screaming? I was in the hall and I could hear her—"

"I don't have super-senses and I said I was sorry—I was listening to my Ipod—besides you should apologize for ruining my Danger Room—"

Wolverine gets out his claws with "snickt" and glared at him, and Forge stopped talking.

Trinity stood behind Logan and was gazing at the adults with worry; still shaken from the Danger Room experience.

Scott turned to her. "Trinity, what were you doing in here?"

"I—I showed up early for my training session—I thought—" Trinity stammered.

Logan turned to her as well. "Kid—you could've been sliced in a thousand pieces because you weren't thinking."

Trinity's eyes widen, and Jean scolds Wolverine. "Logan, it was an accident."

He sniffed the air. "Yeah, just one big mistake, right Jeanie? I can smell that you and Scott were too busy to show up on time."

Jean blushed a bright red and Trinity could feel her anger and embarrassment.

Scott intervenes heatedly. "Logan—"

"What is it Summers? Can't handle the truth?"

Trinity felt uncomfortable with all of the angry emotions.

Kurt notices and placed a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Enough, this isn't the time or place for—"

Forge pressed a button to switch off the holograms, but the floor shifted and the flamethrower rose. "Crap! Get down!" He throws himself on the ground as he tried to turn off the flamethrower. Trinity falls down and covers her head as orange flames danced above them. She felt her fear hit the breaking point as she cried. She lashed out with her emotions subconsciously—as if they could take down the flamethrower—unfortunately, they attacked the closest person to her: Wolverine.

With a roar, Wolverine leapt at the flamethrower, disregarding the flames that licked his body, and ripped it to shreds with his adamantium claws, which sliced through the mechanism like a hot knife through butter. Trinity could feel how quickly he exploded into a high concentrated rage and choked out a shriek when he whirled around and towered over her. His body trembled with fury and heat as his healing skin steamed. He panted out growls and his eyes glowed with an inhuman anger as he glared down at Trinity.

Jean sensed Logan had entered his 'berserker rage' and shouted. "Logan no!"

Wolverine raised his claws to attack, but before he could make another move, he was shot back with a laser blast. Cyclops shot him again, so he was away from Trinity.

Jean yelled at her fiancé. "Scott! Stop it; you're making it worse!"

Logan ran toward Scott with claws gleaming and eyes burning. Forge's arm transforms into a gun as he fished a pack of tranquilizers from his pocket and loads them.

Kurt teleports and holds Logan in a full nelson with all the strength he could muster. "Come on Logan! Snap out of it!"

Trinity gaped in horror, but Jean lifts her from the ground and holds her shoulders tightly. "Trinity! Calm down—you're emotions are doing this to him."

"What—how!" Trinity sees that Kurt was losing his grip.

"You have to calm him down—your fear is elevating his rage—" Jean explained.

Trinity rasped. "I don't know how—I don't understand!"

"RAWHR!" Logan yelled as he threw Nightcrawler off, only to be shot with three tranquilizers.

He growls as the tranquilizers tried to slow him down. He rushes at Forge who was shooting as many tranquilizers as he could at the feral mutant; in hopes that their teammate would return.

"Logan!" Jean finally threw him back with her telekinesis; she tried to avoid doing this because he would be set into overdrive. "Trinity hurry!"

Trinity was hyperventilating. "I don't know—just—Stop it!" She lashed out with her powers with everything she got.

Everyone gasped and fell over in exhaustion, even Wolverine passed out.

Trinity shook her head. "No…not again!" She runs out of the Danger Room. She needed to get out—she needed to get out before she hurts someone else. She races into the garage while grabbing some keys. She leaps into the car and shoved the keys into the ignition; she wasn't thinking she was acting. She drove out of the garage and sped away. The farther she gets—the safer they would be.

* * *

Sabretooth sits beneath a tree and heard a car driving up the road. He grabs the binoculars and sees the girl was racing away from the Institute. He chuckles as she drove passed; not even aware of her hunter watching her. He goes over and gets on his bike and follows her. _This is just too easy. _He grins as he followed the girl through cities, highways, and over the New Jersey border.

* * *

Logan groaned…he felt like he was hit over the head. He sees a few tranquilizers sticking from his chest and pulled them out. He suddenly remembered the flamethrower, and then his vision turning red as he was lost to his berserker rage. "Dammit." He muttered as he sat up and looked around fearfully. He felt his stomach twist when he saw his teammates lying around him. He gets up and felt relieved that there wasn't any blood and kneels over Jean. He lifts her up and gives her a shake. She soon wakes up and holds her head. "Ugh, Logan…?"

"Shh Jean, I got you." He realized that Trinity wasn't around. "Where's the kid?"

Jean concentrates as people rush into the Danger Room. "We heard yellin'—" Sean began, but Logan tells them: "Tend to the others."

Ororo sits beside Kurt and gives him a shock to wake up. The elf jolted awake as his fur rose from the static current. "Yeow!"

Sean helps Forge up, who was waking up as well.

Shiro lifts Scott up into a sitting position and made sure his glasses were secure. He gives Scott a slap, and he sputters. "What the—"

Jean's eyes snap open as she gasped. "Trinity ran away—"

"Where?" Scott was on his feet in an instant.

Jean stands up as Logan helped her. "Ugh, I can't get from her when her emotions are so wild—wait, I sense someone else…" Her eyes widen in shock as she whispered. "Oh my God, Scott—she's being followed—Sabretooth is tracking her."

Logan clenched his teeth together. "Victor."

"Victor Creed—?" Before Shiro could expand on the bizarre similarity between Graydon and Victor Creed; Ororo exclaims. "Why is he tracking her?"

Everyone crowds around Jean and she covered her mouth. "He's—he's going to kill her."

Logan runs out of the Danger Room as Forge followed him while shouting: "Take the new bike, it'll get you there in no time!"

Logan rushes passed students who jump out of his way in shock. He burst into the garage and jumps onto the X-Bike Forge fixed up and drives out without any hesitation; he could track anyone's scent in an instant and didn't need the coordinates.

Jean tries to use her telepathy to read the girl's mind and finally could see where Trinity was going. "She went to the cemetery Sophie's in."

"Who?" Sean asked.

Scott cuts him off. "We have to hurry—"

Forge shook his head. "The Blackbird's wing is still broken—you'll have to take the van."

Scott nods and orders. "Marvel, Nightcrawler, you're coming with me. The rest of you need to stay here and hold down the fort while we're gone. You need to alert the Professor, Lafayettes, and Leonardos what happened."

Kurt puts an arm around Cyclops and Marvel, and "BAMFS" them out.

* * *

Trinity parked the car and leapt out. She slams the door and looks around, seeing the caretaker's car was gone and there was a "Be Back Soon" sign on his little office. She hurries into the cemetery. She finally finds Sophie's tombstone. She kneels in front of it; letting out a sigh of exhaustion and relief. She sees the rose that she placed on the grave a couple months ago had dried into a crusty representation of a flower. She gazes at the engraving and speaks. "Hey Sophie…" She bit her lip; wishing she was really talking to her. "Sorry I didn't bring you another rose…but…it's been a crazy summer. I'm mutant too, but not like you…I can barely control my powers and you were a master of yours…The Institute, you know the one my mom and aunt Marisol and uncle Leon went to—I'm going there. It's really nice and the instructors—the X-Men—they're amazing. You would love it there." She closed her eyes in shame. "I don't know how I can go back. I was lucky I didn't kill anyone driving here. I'm too dangerous to be around anyone. I could really use one of your pep talks right now. Maybe, if they knew about you…you would be there and…we could've shared a room…you would probably try to be an X-Man…I miss you." Her voice cracked as sorrow went through her quickly, but she suddenly felt someone behind her.

The person felt…she couldn't describe it…she just felt terrified. She slowly stands up and turns around to see a man standing a few rows behind her. She saw he wore a ragged brown trench coat that had a white fur pelt on the back of it…and he had unruly hair that was held back by a strange headband. She felt her mouth go dry as he stood there quietly; staring at her with his dark eyes like she something good to eat. Trinity saw his aura was maroon with crimson edges, and she finally found her voice and asked. "Hello, are you visiting someone too?"

"Yes." His voice was deep and gruff, but smooth like a wild cat's growl.

She wraps her arms around her body apprehensively. "Well, if you're looking for someone, you should see Mr. Brown, he's the caretaker—"  
"He's not in." The man's brown eyes sparkle at her in amusement.

Trinity gulped as she tugged at her locket. "He should be back any minute. Who are you looking for? Maybe you'll find the grave marker on the chart at the office."

He begins closing the distance between them; stalking forward slowly. "I'm not looking for someone who's dead, but they're close."

Trinity took a step back as her throat closed in panic. "Who—who are you looking for?"

He stops in front of her; towering over her tiny form. "You."

She felt her legs begin to buckle as she took another step back.

The corner of his mouth curls into a sadistic grin showing a sharp white fang. Trinity sees his hands—there were sharp black nails protruding from each finger—claws. She felt sick and faint, but she also felt like she could run for a mile from this man.

He leans toward her and rumbles softly. "Run."

Trinity didn't waste anytime running away. She could hear and feel him chase after her. She leapt over tombstones and around trees—trying to slow him down with tight corners. She threw a glance behind herself when she couldn't hear him and sees he wasn't there. She skidded to a halt and fell to her knees behind a large memorial of as angel. She tries to pant silently, and when that didn't work, she covered her mouth. She wished she didn't leave her cell phone at the mansion. She could still feel him out there: hungry and excited. She slowly brings her legs up so she was crouching and pressed her side to the memorial.

She listened and could hear him call. "Come on darlin'; you could do better!"

She heard his footsteps approach her hiding place and she forced herself to stop breathing. She heard him stop and sniff loudly. He then walks away. She felt his dangerous aura grow distant and sucked in a breath of air, while uncovering her mouth and moving a hand to grasp her racing heart. She finally stands up slowly and holds onto the statue while gulping nervous breaths and finally broke into a run toward her car.

She didn't feel him—wait, why couldn't she sense his aura at all? She slows down and looks around fearfully; looking around to check if he was near her car; waiting for her. She couldn't feel him and was about to run, when he grabbed her from behind and bellowed. "Gotcha'!"

Trinity let out a screeching scream as his claws wrapped around her throat.

* * *

Wolverine swerved to a stop in front of the cemetery and could smell both Trinity and Victor. He leaps off the bike and before he could take another step; a girl's scream rips through the air. He runs into the cemetery and was met with the sight of Victor, aka Sabretooth, holding Trinity off the ground by her throat. She had both hands gripped on the beast's arm to keep herself up and gasped for air.

Logan thundered as the fear and anger mixed in his blood. "Sabretooth!"

He grins at him and greets. "Logan, it's been a long time, you haven't changed a bit."

"Put her down." Wolverine gets out his claws; ready to attack.

Sabretooth chortled deeply. "I knew that you'd come if I caught one of your little pets, runt. I heard you actually risked your life for this one—then again, that's not exactly correct seeing that you have that healing factor like me. I am happy that you showed up in time for us to—"

He was interrupted when a van screeches up and Cyclops, Marvel, and Nightcrawler teleported beside Wolverine.

Nightcrawler was on all fours in a crouch; gold eyes never leaving the girl Sabretooth held. Marvel stood frozen in place as she tried to read Sabretooth's mind. Cyclops's visor blazed as he placed a hand on the side: ready to fire.

"Well it looks like the cavalry is here—" Victor sneered and barked at Marvel. "Enhanced senses means I can feel ya' prodding my mind, so lady, if you keep fishing around in my head I'll crush this girl's throat—collapse her trachea and severe her arteries. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that can kill people."

Jean retracts from his mind and reconnects to her teammates. _He managed to sense me in his head and tried to hide his thoughts from me. There is also another telepath here…he actually managed to hide Sabretooth from Trinity when she tried to escape…they're trying to block Sabretooth's mind from me. _

_Did you get anything? _Scott communicates.

_Yes, this isn't a hostage negotiation—he's baiting you Logan—no matter what he tells you he's going to kill Trinity._

Logan felt a tremor of fury rip up his back as he glared at Sabretooth. _That's how this bastard plays._

Nightcrawler narrowed his eyes as his tail was hitting the ground impatiently. _Could you use your telekinesis and move her away in time?_

Jean thought a moment. _No, his enhanced senses make him sensitive to any shift that's against him—I can't risk Trinity's life._

Sabretooth speaks once more to Logan. "So runt, how much is this girl worth to you?"

Logan curled back his lip in pure hatred as his hands shook.

Jean sent a thought to her teammates. _Sabretooth believes we don't know his true motives—treat this like a hostage negotiation because if we reveal the truth he won't hesitate to kill her and putting Trinity through anymore trauma could be devastating for all of us as well as her._

Cyclops speaks. "Sabretooth, we're all willing to negotiate a trade for Trinity. What are your terms?"

He narrowed his eyes and told Cyclops. "This is between me and Logan, slim. So sit tight and let the grownups talk." He smiles as he holds Trinity out to Wolverine. Trinity's brown eyes watered as she gazed at Logan and the others: pleading. "Go on runt, come and get her."

Wolverine snarls. "What makes me sure you'll let her live?"

Victor shrugged. "Well, you are trading yourself in right? I guess you'll just have to trust me." His dark eyes glittered with twisted mirth. "You should be happy I didn't get the little girl that's been following you around the Institute. You know the one that looks just like this one, only she has those green puppy-dog eyes." He placed a claw under his eye and then moves it down; slicing into his skin as blood dripped into his gold whiskers. "Then again, there's still time." As he describes Allie everyone tenses. Kurt barred his fangs at Sabretooth threateningly, Jean narrowed her eyes in disgust, and Scott's visor glinted dangerously. Logan held still as he let the words sink in as he controlled his urge to attack Victor—the strain was unbearable.

* * *

Trinity felt like she was having déjà vu—a terrible repeat to her hostage situation with Creed. She held onto Sabretooth's arm to keep herself from being strangled. Her feet twitched below her in midair as her arms shook from trying to hold herself up. She gasped out breaths as she tried not to lose it. She felt the X-Men's worry and panic—she prayed that they'll save her again, but she felt as though that was asking for too much. Her heart froze when Sabretooth started to talk about Allie. She felt her terror grow when he said. "Then again, there's still time."

Trinity felt her heart rate increase and escalate into a dangerous speed as her eyes burned. _Not my sister, you monster._ Her emotions coursed through her blood as she let it all out with a yell.

Sabretooth's hand that held her throat convulsed with the rest of his body as he felt a jarring sensation of pain jolt him. Marvel took the chance and used her telekinesis to rip Trinity from Sabretooth's grasp.

Cyclops made sure to shoot a beam into the enemy's chest; throwing Sabretooth back. He then tells Wolverine. "He's all yours."

Logan smirked darkly as he advanced on Sabretooth and the two mutants fought tooth and nail.

* * *

Trinity's feet finally touched the ground as she stumbled into Kurt's arms. Marvel orders. "Get her out of here." The last thing Trinity saw was the telepathic energy flaring around Jean's eyes.

Nightcrawler teleports Trinity into the office and he looks out the window. He then lifts her chin and checks her neck; relieved he only saw bruises instead of gashes. "Are you alright fraulein?"

Trinity was shaking and wide-eyed—adrenaline and fear still coursing through her. She finally nodded and rubbed her sore neck.

They both heard a yell and look out the window. Trinity gasped when she felt a spasm of pain from them. "Oh no."

Nightcrawler's eyes tighten and he turns to her. "Stay here, I'll be right back—"

Trinity grabs onto his arm. "But—"

He gives her a reassuring smile as he tells her. "You'll be safe here, and this won't take long." He then becomes serious. "Promise me you'll stay here Trinitia."

Trinity bit her lip and lets go of his arm. "I…promise."

He smirks and gives her mock salute as he teleports out in a puff of smoke. Trinity presses herself against the window as she feels the battle continue. _What have I done?_

* * *

Wolverine roared as he stabbed Sabretooth through the abdomen and into a tree. Both Sabretooth and Wolverine were covered in healing scars and dried blood as they delivered blows. Victor snarled as he raked his claws across Logan's throat and kicked him off. Wolverine coughed as he tried to heal, but he was losing too much blood. Sabretooth proceeded with his beating by burying his claws into Logan's chest and lifted him up to throw him down. As soon as Wolverine hit the ground, Cyclops zapped a large branch off the tree and it landed on Sabretooth causing his legs to buckle under the weight. Cyclops shot another laser into Sabretooth's face, which knocked him to the ground.

Jean concentrated, using the distraction of Wolverine and Cyclops to gather information from Sabretooth's mind. It was difficult to focus on his mind when something else was blocking her. She finally shoved through and felt the other telepathic presence disappear, but she manage to get the telepath's name: _Kid Omega?_

* * *

Magneto sat in his chair and listened as Kid Omega told him what was happening with Sabretooth. "You were smart to have me keep an eye on him. The X-Men showed and took the girl right out of his claws—she's still alive. Marvel is trying to gather information from him—ugh, I can't block that bitch."

Magneto frowned as some on the metal objects creaked around him from his powers. "Don't waste your energy; find the girl."

Kid Omega concentrates and finds her frightened little mind as well as Nightcrawler's. "She's with Nightcrawler—wait." He smirks. "He just left her."

Magneto narrowed his eyes and finally orders. "Finish her."

* * *

Trinity felt everyone's pain. It was driving her insane that they were out there risking their lives—"Ah!" She holds her head as someone ripped through her mind like a knife.

* * *

Sabretooth jumps onto his feet as the side of his face was healing the burns. Scott lashed out with a kick that made Sabretooth stumble back. The beast turned toward Marvel and growled when he felt her in his head. He whirls around, grabs Cyclops, and threw him at Marvel. She gasped as she tried to slow Cyclops's fall, but his weight, her fatigue of fighting Kid Omega, and the sudden force of the throw was too much for her. Scott collided with Jean and they both fell over and passed out.

Wolverine finally healed and leapt up and clawed into Sabretooth's back. Sabretooth yowled and struck Wolverine into the tree.

Nightcrawler suddenly teleports over to Sabretooth and strikes him across the face, he proceeded by teleporting around Sabretooth and giving him body punches, while saying between hits. "Sorry herr Sabretooth, but I'm afraid you'll have to deal with me as well."

The feral mutant bellowed. "Damn little rat!" He finally manages to grab him by his tail and threw him to the ground. Kurt growls in both discomfort and humiliation. He teleports away. Sabretooth looks around and noticed Wolverine was gone as well. "What the devil—"

"Close, but no cigar!" Nightcrawler jeered as he teleported above him and dropped Wolverine on him. Logan shoved his claws into Sabretooth's shoulders and held on as Kurt flipped and leapt around Sabretooth, while giving a series of kicks and punches.

* * *

Kid Omega concentrated as he tried to telepathically destroy her mind—trying to kill her brain.

"AAHHH!" Trinity yelled as she fell to her knees. She then fought back—she had no idea who was attacking her, but she just wanted the pain to stop.

Kid Omega screamed as his entire body burned with pain. He disconnects from the girl's mind and slumps against the chair as the pain finally ceased. His eyes rolled back as he passes out. Magneto stood up in alarm as a trickle of blood escaped Kid Omega's nose.

Trinity felt the pain finally leave her and leaned against the wall. She looked up to see a rifle hanging up on the wall. She remembers the time when Logan passed from being shot in the head, and how Sabretooth had a healing factor just like him. She stood up and takes it down. She then fishes through the drawers for bullets and found a box full. She loaded the rifle just as her Grandfather taught her and snapped it closed. She looked out the window as she felt her heroes suffer. She disregarded her promise and left.

* * *

Sabretooth was done; he had a job to do. He strikes Kurt in the back of the head hard enough to give the freak a concussion. Logan thundered as he tried to bury his claws into Sabretooth's head. Victor grabbed Wolverine's wrists; making sure his claws were severing the veins and held him fast. Wolverine brought his knee up and bashed it into the bottom of his enemy's skull. He was then thrown into the tree. Victor picks Logan up by the head and bashed his face into the trunk again. And again. And again.

Trinity sees everyone was down. She almost cried out when she saw Sabretooth was bashing Logan's face into the tree. She lifted the rifle and aimed it at Sabretooth's head; trying to stop her arms from shaking. She fired. She felt herself pale as the bullet missed Sabretooth's head by an inch. _No! How could I miss! He was right there!_

Sabretooth turns around and lets an unconscious Logan fall to the ground. "Darlin' you just shot at the wrong mutant."

He then gets on all fours and charged at her. Trinity fired another shot and ran before she could see whether she hit him. She knew she didn't have time to reload and chucked the empty gun at Sabretooth to slow him down. _Idiot!_ She thought to herself. _You could've used that as a club—what should I do!_

She suddenly remembered the cliff face above the forest. She ran toward the field, where a large hill was seen. She raced up the hill—knowing that the other side didn't slope down into a grassy field, but a edge of a cliff. The other side was a steep hillside that held a gnarled tree. At the bottom of the hill was a long drop into a forest. She made it to the crest of the hill and rolled down while grasping at the grass to stop her before she fell off the cliff. Sabretooth was not so lucky. He leapt over the crest only to find he was stumbling toward an edge of a cliff. He yelled as he stumbled down the sheer hillside.

He grabs onto Trinity's leg as he went down. Trinity cried as claws sunk into her leg and pulled her down. She dug her fingers into the ground until she grabbed onto the tree root. The root came undone as she slid over the edge, but she held fast to the root and it kept her from falling. She groaned as Sabretooth's claws ranked down her leg—she felt like her leg was going to be pulled from her socket. Her arms also felt like they were going to be pulled apart as she held on with burning hands; dangling over a forest by a root. She tried to kick Sabretooth off. "Let go—"

He laughs. "Doesn't matter—if we fall—then you'll die."

Trinity heard the root cracking as her palms started slipping down the safety line from the sweat. The scratches stung and her leg was burning. She concentrated on that pain and on Sabretooth's aura. She heard a shout and felt him let go as a spasm of her pain went through him. He fell. Trinity felt relieved as she tried to climb back up, but the root finally broke on her. She screamed as she fell toward the forest below.

* * *

**Brother: "What are you doing stupid!" He's talkin' to Trin. "If you listen to John bad stuff will happen-oh no, don't you run away-now look what you did. You just ran into a trap stupid."**

**Author: "Who's stupid?"**

**"Trinity."**

**"Oh come on-"**

**"She listened to a student who gets her into trouble, instead of talking to a instructor!"**

**"Well-"**

**"She wandered into a room named the 'Danger Room'."**

**"That's not-"**

**"She ran away from the only safe place she has-"**

**"She-"**

**"Just missed shooting Sabretooth!"**

**"Hey-"**

**"She just ran off a freaking cliff!"**

**"SILENCE IN THE NAME OF STAN LEE!" **

**Brother stops talking.**

**"Thank you. Now, Trinity was in a state of stress where she could not think clearly as she ran away. She was afraid the mall and Creed incident would happen again if she stayed. Her friends and family told her how she would be alright in the Danger Room and it was Forge's fault-though it was definitly John's fault. Also, it was either the cliff or being clawed to pieces."**

**"Fair enough. Great cliff hanger btw. Hehe, it's funny because she was hanging off a cliff." Snicker.**

**"Victor." Author shivers. "He's definitely a 10.5 on the creeper scale." 1-10 scale.**

**"Is Trin gonna die?"**

**"I can't say."**

**"Aw man. We don't own Marvel."**

**"Only our oc's."**

**"Which she's going to kill-"**

**"Shut up." :) "Please r&r. Thanks for the great reviews and keep 'em coming."**

**Brother: "I give you free reign to bash Trin's stupidity with funny comments."**

**"Oh come on!"**


	14. Chapter 13: Listen

Scott wakes up to the sound of a gunshot, he then sees Trinity running away from Sabretooth. He gets up and follows. He sees the rifle was discarded and continues to follow them up the hill. He stopped at the crest just in time to see he was overlooking a cliff. He also sees Trinity fall.

Cyclops quickly jumps off the cliff after her. He reaches out and caught Trinity in his arms. He then releases a steady laser from his visor at the ground below, and the force slowed their fall to the ground. Trinity clung to him as they hit the ground. Cyclops stumbled onto his knees, but he managed to hold onto Trinity. He lets her go and examines her bloodied leg. "How's your leg?" He stood up and looked around and saw the steaming patch of earth he created from his laser.

Trinity was staring at him with wide eyes in amazement, but manages to say. "It's alright…th-thank you Scott."

Before Cyclops could respond, he heard someone moving behind a cluster of trees—crunching through the brush toward them. He wasted no time as he swung Trinity behind him and placed a hand on his visor to fire.

Sabretooth limped out from behind a tree as he pulled a branch from his arm. His cuts and bruises from the fall healed slowly. He even popped his shoulder back in with only a grimace. His brown eyes were now red as he focused on Trinity and Scott. Trinity couldn't breathe when she felt Victor's fury and pain…his obsessed need for blood. Cyclops kept her behind him as he waited.

Sabretooth groaned. "Do you think I won't kill you too Cyclops—that girl is dead! Do ya' hear me X-Man!"

Cyclops remains silent as Trinity choked out a small whimper; she was so scared—why the hell did this stuff keep happening to her?

Sabretooth growled as he started running toward the two mutants; arms outstretched and ebony claws out.

Scott stood his ground and waited. Trinity felt like everything was moving slowly as Sabretooth leapt into the air before them—ready to claw them to shreds. Cyclops lifted his free arm to block Trinity's view as his other hand pressed the release mechanism on his visor to unleash a large laser ray. The red energy blasted into Sabretooth's entire body—covering him in ruby light and throwing the feral mutant into the air while melting his skin and clothes. Sabretooth howled as he flew over the forest—a mass of burning and steaming flesh.

Scott moved his arm out of Trinity's face. She stood there—frozen in shock. Scott turns to her and kneels down while holding her shoulders. "Trinity?" He thought he blocked her vision so she didn't have to see what happened…then he realized…she still felt what happened.

She doesn't answer as she stared at the space where Victor was.

Scott felt nervous and gives her shake. "Trinity?"

"It burned…" She finally muttered. "We're not so different huh?"

He frowned as he stood up. "What do you mean Trinity?"

"Sabretooth…he's not so different from Creed." Scott suddenly realized Graydon Creed and Victor…no, it had to be a coincidence…hopefully. She continues. "Their bloodlust…it's no different from mine."

Scott gripped her shoulders tightly and told her. "Hey, you're not Sabretooth, do you understand?"

Trinity shut her eyes. "You don't get it—their emotions were no different from mine when I tried to kill Creed…no different—"

Cyclops sighed and tells her. "I get it. But there is a difference between them and you."

Trinity opens her eyes and peers at him questionably.

He explains. "Creed, Sabretooth—they don't see the evil in their ways—there's no guilt in them. You know right from wrong. If you were like them; you wouldn't have tried to save us."

Trinity scrutinizes him and realized he wasn't lying to make her feel better; he was telling the truth.

Scott wasn't much of a talker; that was more of Jean and Kurt's thing…he hoped that he was getting through to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through this again."

He sends a thought out to Jean. _Marvel, I got Trinity, we're at the bottom of the cliff we could use some help._

She looks passed his visor and answers. "You're not the only who's sorry…" Her face crumpled into a frown and she wraps her arms around him. Cyclops hesitates and then picks her up, and realized how similar this mission was compared to when they first found her. He looks up at the cliff and wonders how he was going to get her up there.

There was a "BAMF" and Cyclops felt relieved when he saw Nightcrawler. Kurt sees Scott was carrying Trinity as well as her bloody leg and panics. "What happened! Is she—"

"I'm fine." Trinity answered. She turns her head to peer at Nightcrawler with a guilty expression. "But…I kinda' broke my promise…"

Kurt blinks for a moment and then his lip curls into a wry grin. "Ja, I can see that."

He goes over and teleports them to the X-Van. Logan was leaning on the bike—healing, while Jean was sitting on the edge of the X-Van with an icepack on her head. She sees them and closed her eyes in relief. Logan smelt the blood and stood up; blue eyes focused on Trinity. Scott sets her down next to Jean who had brought the medical equipment over with her telekinesis. The team was silent as Scott cleaned up the five long scratches that ran down Trinity's left leg. She winced as the disinfectant was applied.

Jean keeps an eye on her emotions and was surprised, as well as glad, that they weren't overwhelming her. Scott finally spoke up. "We'll have to show Moira and your mom these scratches to make sure they aren't infected. Luckily, they're pretty shallow."

Trinity nods and takes a deep breath. "I'm in a lot of trouble."

"That's putting it lightly." Scott tells her.

Trinity looks at all of the X-Men. "I'm so sorry—I was only trying to protect everyone at the Institute—I didn't want what happened at the mall and alleys…to happen to you all. Thank you…for saving me again…"

Jean helps her up. "We understand Trinity, now let's get you home."

Trinity felt herself grow anxious for home, until she realized Jean was talking about the Institute.

Wolverine brings the bike over to the van and Scott raised a brow. "You're riding with us?"

Logan loads the bike into the van and grunts. "Yeah, I ain't letting the kid out of my sight till we get back."

* * *

Trinity sat beside Kurt as she clasped her hands together and was pondering everything that's happened. She was done with this—being a damsel—sure, it only happened twice, but being so helpless was frightening. She peers at Kurt who was also watching her in concern; not even realizing his tail was wrapping around her legs, but she didn't care. She looks away and glanced at Logan who was also watching her closely with a frown on his face. She then peeked at Scott, who was driving, and Jean up front. She realized they all had the magenta energy around their foreheads from Jean. She thought about the stories and everything the X-Men have done for her. She finally made her decision.

* * *

Jean talks to her team telepathically about the information she gathered from Sabretooth:

_Sabretooth was on an assassination mission. _

_Who sent him? _Scott asked her.

_Magneto._

She can see Wolverine and Nightcrawler stare at Trinity. Kurt asks. _Why does Magneto want Trinity dead?_

Jean explains. _I'm not sure. All I know is that Magneto wanted Mystique to kill Trinity…but he took her off the mission for failing, and assigned it to Sabretooth. _She telepathically tells Logan. _His 'payment', was a chance to get to you._

Logan frowns. _She was lucky we got there in time…Sabretooth would've killed her without any mercy…_

Kurt's tail subconsciously wraps around Trinity's legs in an act of protection. _But why kill her? Why does Magneto want this? _

Logan thinks toward Scott. _What are you thinking about Summers? You and Jean know Magneto better than I do; he was yer trainer along with Prof._

Jean shook her head. _Since Magneto left the X-Men—he'd change…besides, if you want to know about him…you should ask Leon or Meg._

_We'll talk to the Professor._ Scott answers. _Meg wouldn't be able to understand why Erik would try to kill her daughter. Leon would never talk about Erik without flaming up._

_Leon's still worked up about Magneto?_ Logan asked._ He needs to move on._

Jean defends Leon. _Erik Lensherr was a father Leon and Meg never had…a surrogate for their father who was too busy running the Worthington Industry in Arizona to take care of his children. When Magneto went against the X-Men…Leon and Meg were crushed, but Leon grieved differently. You remember when he tried to kill Magneto—he was almost unstoppable. _

_Jean's right._ Scott communicates. _We need to talk to the Professor about this, and we can't mention to anyone that Trinity is a target; especially Trinity. She is already has enough to worry about. We also need to investigate Graydon Creed more._

Logan bristles. _ There's no f***** way that they're related Scott._

_We need to be sure._ Scott responds. _We can't ignore these coincidences people. Also, we need to keep a closer eye on Trinity and her siblings. _

* * *

Lorna hated begging, and pleaded with her roommate again. "Come on Sofia, please just sleep in the guest room for one more night."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "No! I'm not doing that again, besides when everyone else moves in I won't be able to sleep in a room so you and Bobby could mess around." Sofia represses the urge to gag. "Can't you go to his room?"

"No, John's always there—you know that." She suddenly smiled. "But who knows how long John would be there—"

"No." Her roommate makes a face. "I just can't see Trinity going out with John—"

"Well, John is pretty nice and charming with her—"

"She's not for him—John isn't a sensitive guy that she would need—"

"Because you know Trinity so well?"

"No, but I do know John." Sofia finally finds her jacket in the closet and puts it on. "Now, if you need me—I'll be enjoying a nice flight around the school."

Lorna sighs. "Trinity isn't the only one who needs a boyfriend."

Sofia scoffs. "I don't need a boyfriend to be happy Lorna."

She laughs. "Ouch."

Sofia opens the door only to see Bobby. "Ugh, don't worry I'm leaving—"

Bobby shakes his head. "Hilarious Sof." He walks in and tells them. "Trinity ran away."

"What!" The girls exclaim.

Bobby explains. "I ran into Mr. Cassidy and Forge—they said her powers went berserk and she left. Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Logan went to go get her—"

"Poor Trinity." Sofia sighed.

Lorna asked. "What made her powers go crazy?"

"They didn't say—I was eavesdropping—but there's more."

The girls listen closely as Bobby says. "Sabretooth is after her."

Sofia gasped as Lorna cursed.

Sofia speaks up. "Does her brother and sister know?"

Lorna asks. "Did anyone call the Professor?"

Bobby shrugged. "I have no clue—"

They suddenly hear Dom's voice: "What do mean she ran away!"

They run into the hall where they see Miss Munroe talking to Dom and Allie. Dominic looked angry and worried, and Allie looked incredibly confused and scared. Miss Munroe was busy explaining everything that happened and reassuring them Trinity would be brought back safe and sound.

"There's your answer." Bobby tells Sofia.

* * *

Leon got the call as they were driving to Salem Center from the city. He listened patiently as Sean explained the situation to him. He peers at Mansi, who was watching him closely; brow knit in concern. The silence in the backseat told him that the twins were also listening. Leon finally tells Sean. "We're almost there. Keep an eye on Dominic and Allie; make sure they don't try to run off after her. As you know, running off runs in the family." Leon enjoyed making redundant jokes to calm himself.

Sean chuckles in agreement. "You mean they get it from you?"

Leon smirks dryly. "Yeah." He had to keep a brave face—panic never does any good in these situations. "See you soon Sean, and let the kids know that I'm almost there."

"Ororo told them about what happened."

"She didn't tell them about Victor; did she?"

"No."

"Good, where's Charles?"

"He's taking the Worthington jet back here as we speak. He's not happy about what happened—"

"Can't blame him. I have a few choice words for everyone."

"Leon, it was an accident—"

"Mistakes are accidents Sean, and when it comes to the kids—we can't afford to make those mistakes. Don't worry, I won't injure anyone."

"Well that's a relief." Sean mutters. "See you soon boyo."

"See you Sean." Leon hangs up the phone and Mansi asked:

"What happened this time?"

Leon continues driving and answers. "Trinity ran away. The X-Men are handing it though; I know you guys are about to ask me a thousand questions, but hold on; I need to drive." At this he jumps from 55 to 75—speeding along back roads as his family held onto their chairs; too surprised and worried to say anything, except for Fleur who said: "Vroom-vroom!" as she played with her toy car—oblivious to the tension.

* * *

Trinity felt the van stop and opened her eyes to see they were back. Logan loads the bike out of the van as Jean helped. Kurt teleports Trinity out and as the smoke cleared, he says. "Uh-oh."

Trinity suddenly felt a presence…it was someone she knew…someone she was close to…navy blue aura with a red edge…Leon? She steps away from Kurt and sees uncle Leon standing before them. He had his lean arms crossed as he surveyed the group. His dark brown eyes were keen and grave. He holds out his arms. "What? No hug for your tio?"

Trinity limps over to him and wraps her arms around him as he picks her up.

"I missed you." She tells him.

"I missed you too Trin,"

There were shouts and Trinity sees her twin cousins, aunt Mansi carrying Fleur, and her siblings race over to her.

"Trin!" Allie tackles her into a hug. "Why'd you runaway!"

Trinity almost trips as Allie hugged her tightly, but Leon steadies her. "Careful Allie, you'll mess up the bandages."

Allie notices the bandages. "Oh my God! What happened? Are you okay?" She turns on the X-Men and snapped. "Miss Munroe said she'd be okay! What happened!"

Dominic pulls Allie off Trinity, and tells her. "Later Allie."

Kenneth embraces Trinity. "Hey cous', you okay?"

Trinity lies. "Just a scrape—I tripped on a headstone in the cemetery. God Kenny—did you go through a growth spurt?"

Kenneth laughs and picks her up to spin her around. "Yep."

Kendra complains. "Kenneth be careful with her." Kenneth puts Trinity down and Kendra gently hugs her cousin. "You really gave everyone a scare."

"I'm okay." Trinity hugs her back. She noticed Dom was glowering at her, and she felt his disappointment and sadness. Before Trinity could ask what's wrong, Kendra moved aside to let Mansi hug her niece.

Mansi gives Fleur to Kenneth to hold and she placed her hands on each side of Trinity's head. "Are you alright hon?"

"Yes tia." Trinity tells her.

Mansi kisses her forehead. "Good, now let's get you inside, and I'll cook you up a nice dinner—what're you hungry for?"

"Um—you're famous carnitas?"

Mansi grins, and takes Fleur from Kenneth and hands her to Trinity. "Fleur, this your cousin Trini."

Trinity holds Fleur; a little nervous, until she saw the baby's cheerful lavender and pink aura. The baby giggled as she played with the locket around Trinity's neck.

They all went inside, but Leon stayed outside with the X-Men. He turns to them, placed his hands on his hips, and asked. "What the hell happened?"

Scott notices Leon and remembered all the times Leon took that stance during Danger Room training, but now his brow was lined with age, he had grown an anchor goatee and thick moustache, and his head of hair was lined with a few silver hairs.

Scott tells him. "I know you're mad—"

"I'm pissed, and I just got off the phone with Meg; she's terrified. So I'm going to ask nicely; what the hell is going on around here?"

Leon listens as they explain what happened.

When Magneto was mentioned his eyes flashed, but he remained still. He raised an eyebrow at Logan. "I don't like hearing Sabretooth tried to use Trinity as bartering chip in your fights—"

Logan narrowed his eyes. "Just spit it out Leon."

Leon tells him. "Keep your shit out of here Logan."

Wolverine marches up to him; seething. "You haven't changed a bit you old smart-ass."

Leon tells them. "Meg entrusted her kids to be under my guidance—"

"You mean the Professor's—" Scott argued.

Leon glared at him. "Sit tight boy scout." Scott sighed—there's the old nickname.

Leon explains. "I can't be the nice, chill uncle with these kids—Now, I'm their protector assigned by their mother. We'll be working together to protect and teach these kids—but don't think for a minute that anyone's judgment or decisions about Trin, Dom, and Allie outranks mine. You don't like it—deal with it." He looks into Logan's eyes last.

Logan curled his lip into a scowl, which turned into a grin. "Welcome back you son-of-a-bitch." He claps Leon's shoulder and leaves.

Leon smirked at everyone else. "Don't worry, you're not the only ones I lectured today, and you won't be the last."

Jean smiled and shook her head as she hugged Leon. "Some things never change."

Leon goes over to Kurt and placed a hand on his shoulder. "How are you son?"

Kurt smirked. "I'm black and blue all over—but that's normal. It's gutt to have you back Leon."

Leon nods and goes over to Scott; holding out his hand. "No hard feelings boy scout?"

Cyclops scoffs. "No, but will you ever stop calling me that?"

Leon laughs. "Nope." He then tells him. "How is the team?"

Cyclops tells him. "Everything's going well, the new students are getting better with controlling their powers, and we have a couple new members. You know, there's still an opening for you."

Leon's face darkens. "I'm not here to be an X-Man, Scott."

Scott answers. "You were a great leader—"

"Now you're leader, there's a reason why I passed it on to you." Leon remembers his last mission as a leader…Petra and Armando. "I'm just here to teach and train."

Scott nods. "I understand, but you once told me: 'once an X-Man—"

'"Always an X-Man."' Leon sighed.

He tells him. "I'm not asking you to take my job; I'm just letting you know you're always welcome to fight on the team."

Leon thinks as he stares at the Xavier Mansion. "I hear you."

* * *

Trinity sat in the kitchen with her family and held Fleur on her lap. She shut her eyes and held the little girl close; letting the baby's happiness wrap around her like a warm blanket. She listened as her cousins and siblings talked:

Allie exclaims. "I can create huge bubble force fields—in any shape!"

"That's really cool Allie." Kenneth tells her.

Trinity opens her eyes to see Allie had created a bunch of small force field cubes, which were revolving around the room. She grinned as Kendra created a silver orb of light, and the force fields floated over to it and spun around it. Allie pulled the cubes back to herself and giggled. "How did you do that Kendra?"

Kendra smiled shyly. "Just like how you create your fields. I can also control water with my light."

Dominic raised his eyebrows. "It's like a gravitational pull."

Kendra nods. "Tio said my powers are similar to lunar properties, and Kenneth's are similar to solar energy."

Kenneth adds. "I'm the sun and Kendra is the moon."

Mansi tells them. "Go set the table twins." The twins get up and go, while Allie chases after them. "I'll help!"

Dominic is about to follow, but Trinity caught his sleeve. "Dom."

He peers down at her. "Yeah?"

Trinity could feel his hurt and anger. "I'm sorry—I left because I wanted to protect you all from my powers—I was scared."

"So were we."

"I'm sorry." Trinity tells him.

"If you really are sorry Trin, then don't do it again. Okay?" He tells her, and Trinity saw how much he looked like their dad with his brow all furrowed and eyes serious.

"Don't worry Dom, I won't."

He scrutinizes her and finally nods; feeling relieved.

Leon walks into the kitchen and says. "Trin, let's go for a walk."

Trinity could feel his grim attitude and puts Fleur in her chair and follows him out. They walk around the Institute, until they were in the library. Leon sits down at a table that held a chessboard. Trinity sits across from him. "You remember the rules?" He asked her.

Trinity sets up the board. "Yeah, uncle Hank taught Dom and me how to play. Dom's better at it though."

Leon nods. "Hank and I used to play all the time. I also played with Charles and Erik—" He stops and moves his pawn.

"Charles is the professor." She realized. "Who's Erik?" Trinity moved a pawn two spaces.

Leon shook his head. "Someone who died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry…how?"

"Magneto." He states, and the feelings of sadness, betrayal, and anger made Trinity fall silent. She'll have to ask Jean what Magneto was. She moves another pawn.

Leon responds. "That stunt you pulled today is the reason I dragged you down here."

Trinity knew there had to be a reason. She moved another pawn. "Running away?"

"Yeah. You need to understand that the Institute is the safest place for you. Running away from your problems never solves them."

She moves another pawn to make room for her bishop. "Yes sir—"

"Don't 'yes sir' me. Listen." He tells her as he moved his knight to take out a pawn. "You're mother asked me to come here to help you and your siblings. You don't understand how your actions affect them. Your instructors can teach you all they want, but it won't make a difference unless you're willing to learn. I don't want this incident to happen again Trinitia."

Trinity stares at him and answers. "I'm trying to control these powers tio…these powers scare me so much…I'm afraid I might hurt someone…and I'm afraid of other people hurting me because of my powers."

"That's a lot to be afraid of. I hear you're afraid of fire too?"

Trinity paled. "Who told you?" She moves her bishop and finishes off the knight.

"No one had to tell me. It's understandable that you would be after what happened." He moves his other bishop into a corner.

Trinity lowers her eyes and moves her rook to take out a pawn.

Leon hold out his hand. "Hold my hand."

Trinity stares at his hand and shook her head. "No." She knew how he could create fire.

Leon leans forward. "Are you afraid of me Trin?"

Trinity glowered at him. "No."

"Would I ever hurt you?"

"No."

"Then go ahead."

Trinity slowly takes his hand. Leon grasped her hand tightly. "Stay calm." His hand is suddenly surrounded with a strange orange energy, which started to cover Trinity's hand as well. It was warm as it remained over her skin and flowing and pulsing. She stopped breathing when fire started forming over his hand. She tried to pull away, but he holds onto her. "If you let go, then the energy can't protect you from the fire."

Trinity cried. "I can't do this!"

"You can." He tells her. "As long as you control your abilities as I am controlling mine."

She whimpered as the fire danced over her hand, heat tickling her skin, but Leon's energy kept her safe. She gripped his hand like a vice and tried not to scream as the fire flickered over her skin slowly. Then, the fire went out and the orange energy moved off her and onto Leon and soon disappeared. Leon lets go of her hand and she slumped back into her chair. Leon watches her and tells her gently. "You're stronger than you think." He moves his queen in front of her king. "Check."

* * *

Dinner was ready early and everyone gathered in the dining room eagerly for Mansi's cooking, except for Logan and John. Everyone acted as though Trinity's accident in the danger room never happened, and when Forge was passing her the salsa he asked. "Are we okay?"

Trinity gives him a grin. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Forge smiled in relief and gives her the salsa. Leon was reminiscing with Sean and Ororo about the old days. Mansi was talking to Kurt, Bobby, and Lorna as Xi'an was holding Fleur on her lap and feeding her. Kenneth was listening to Hernando as Kendra was conversing with Rahne and Allie. Jean and Scott ate together in silence, but were telepathically thinking to each other through their rapport. Sofia was busy asking Master Shiro about her powers, and Dom was chatting with Amara and Sammy. Psylocke, Moira, and the Professor were still on the jet and wouldn't be at the school until an hour. Trinity turns to Forge and asked. "Forge?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"What does a student have to do to become a X-Man?"

Forge almost chokes on his drink. "Say what?"

"Well, I want to know what I have to do to become a X-Man."

"You want to be a X-Man!" Forge exclaimed loudly in excitement.

The entire room went silent and Trinity sees everyone was staring at her. There were mixtures of total surprise, confusion, and concern. Trinity quickly grabs her plate and rushed out of the room.

Trinity cleaned her plate and wished Forge didn't freak out about her question—now everyone knew she wanted to be an X-Man. She could feel Logan was close…she goes into the garage. Logan was in the garage facing off with a worn-out punching bag. Trinity watched each punch he delivered with wide eyes; imagining (and remembering) the damage he could inflict on a person.

"What is it kid?" Logan grunted; continuing to punch the bag.

Trinity took a deep breath. "I came to apologize. I'm sorry about losing control and my powers possessing you—" There was a loud punch when she said this and she felt Logan's feelings of frustration. "I hope you can forgive me sir."

Logan stopped punching and held the bag still. "You're kidding me; right kid?"

"No." Trinity answered nervously.

"You screwed up that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. You're acting like you attacked me or somethin'." He starts to hit the bag again.

Trinity scoffed. "But I did attack you! And I knocked out everyone in the Danger Room—"

He peers into her eyes. "Just don't do it again. You're smart enough to learn from your mistakes."

Trinity looked down at her feet in shame.

Logan snorts. "Look, I'll forgive you when you stop moping around. Take it from someone who knows; you just need to train until you can control your emotions. Once you can control that—you're unstoppable." At this, Logan lets out his claws and slices the chain that held the punching bag. The rusted chain broke and the old punching bag fell to the ground with a loud "thump".

"Sorry—" Trinity began, but Logan gave her a glare. "I mean—I'll train harder to control my powers—goodnight—" She almost rushed back inside, but stopped. "And thank you for saving me again…" She finally leaves, and Logan watches her and finally drags the old punching bag over to the trash cans to be thrown out.

* * *

Allie helps Kendra unpack and was bouncing around the room; excited her cousin was her roommate. "Ken, we can stay up late and you can tell me ghost stories—we can play truth or dare—"

Kendra smiled as she listened to Allie. She carefully unpacks a framed photo of her parents and their friends at the Institute. She placed it on her dresser ceremoniously. She painted the frame herself, and the photo was from her tio and tia. Allie stopped talking and stared at the photo; it was of the old X-Students and they were in the library. "Aunt Marisol looks just like you, and uncle John looks like Kenneth only with brown eyes."

Kendra shook her head. "No, mama's prettier."

Allie rolled her eyes. "You're both pretty—" she sees a girl that looks like Trinity except the hair and eye color was different. "Hey…I think that's my mom." She points to a teenage girl who was sitting beside a big guy around her age with glasses.

"That's uncle Hank next to her." Kendra explains. She then points to a thin young man with thick hair sitting beside Hank. "And there's Leon."

Allie tilts her head. "He looks a little like Dom…"

Kendra giggled. "Yes," She points to a young girl with red hair sitting beside a boy with red sunglasses and messy hair. "There's Jean and Scott."

Allie sees a girl around her age with white hair. "It's Miss Munroe!"

Kendra nods. "Yep and you see that girl with the short hair and the skinny guy with the long hair next to her?"

"Is that Xi'an and Forge?" Allie suddenly recognized them. "It is!" She notices a girl with blonde hair and green eyes sitting at Leon's feet and a tall, dark guy standing next to Leon with a girl who had fly-like wings. "Who're they?"

"Oh, the tall guy is Leon's old friend Armondo Munoz and the girl next to him was his girlfriend…I think her name was Angel something. The girl sitting down is Petra."

Allie states at the photo. "Yeah…Storm told me about them." She then notices in the back of the photo there were some more people. She sees a young man with gold curls and knew it was Mr. Cassidy. She also saw a young woman with long auburn hair, obviously Moira, standing and talking to a man with thinning brown hair and familiar grey eyes. He stood tall and his hand held a chess piece he was moving. There was an old man sitting at the chess board; his dark green eyes watching and lips smiling wryly. Behind them was a teenage girl with platinum hair and striking blue eyes. Allie looks back at the grey-eyed man and gasped. "Is that Professor X?"

Kendra notices. "Yes, this picture was taken a couple months before…the accident."

"The accident?"

"Tia Mansi told me there was an accident where the Professor was paralyzed."

"Oh." Allie points to the blonde teenager. "Who's that?"

"Uh...Leon said her name was Emma Frost, but she wasn't at the school long."

Allie wonders. "Who's the old guy playing chess?"

Kendra tilts her head. "Good question, whenever I ask Leon who it is he ignores me…I don't know who he is…maybe a friend of the Professor's?"

Allie looks at the photo once more. "Yeah; probably."

* * *

Trinity turns on her computer and turns on her Skype—as soon as she did, Allison was calling her for a video chat. Trinity hesitated and finally answered. Soon she saw Allison staring at her with anxious blue eyes. "TRIN!" She squealed loudly.

Trinity jumped in surprise and smiled. "Hey Dazzler."

Allison was grinning from ear to ear and laughed. "Holy shit—I was wondering when you'd answer. I've been calling you like crazy, and Collette went to your house and no one was there. We both went to your grandparents' restaurant and found out that you guys were sent to a school in New York—Trin, what happened?"

Trinity wondered how much she should tell Allison and answered. "Well…you know my…accident at school…well…"

"You're a mutant!" Allison's face was delighted. "I knew it! I knew it!"

Trinity blinked in surprise. "You knew?"

"I mean what else could it be?" Allison then bit her lip. "There's something I have to tell—" She stops and looked off screen. "Collette! Trin is on Skype!"

Collette's face fills the screen beside Allison and she cried. "Trinity! Where have you been!"

Trinity smiled at her. "I'm in New York."

Collette gawked. "So you really are going to a new school…Allison said it's because you're a mutant. Is it true?"

Trinity stared at the screen and nodded.

Collette's eyes became sympathetic. "I see. We still love you—I mean—being mutant doesn't change anything—being a mutant isn't bad—" Collette rambled.

Trinity felt her eyes water; she was so relieved she still had Collette and Allison, and missed them. "Thank guys."

Allison nudge Collette who was started to tear up too. "So Trin, how's your new school? Are there any cute guys there?"

Trinity smirked at Allison. "There are quite a few cute guys—"

"Any single ones I'd like?" Allison asked mischiviously.

Collette peered at her. "Don't you have a boyfriend Allison?"

"That's temporary."

"He's your agent."

"That's why he's temporary." She asks Trin. "Come on tell us."

Trinity tells them. "There's a cute guy named Hernando—a huge flirt, but he's really nice."

"Aw!" Allison cooed. "You like him."

Trinity blushed. "Not like that!"

Allison laughs as Collette shook her head. "Anyone else?"

"Well…there is this one guy…he's from Australia."

"Ooh." Allison wags her eyebrows and Collette looked uncomfortable.

Trinity made sure her door was shut before continuing. "We actually went out for a walk a couple nights ago…he thinks I'm his girlfriend."

Allison asked. "What do you think though?"

Trinity bit her lip. "Well…I do like him…"

Allison cheers. "You go girl!" Someone suddenly calls her off-screen. Allison sighed and shouted. "Coming dad! Alright Trin, love ya' and I miss you—I'll call you tomorrow." She leaves.

Collette smiled at Trinity. "So what do they teach you at this school?"

Trinity thought about the mutant training, Danger Room, and advance lab work on mutant genetics. "Um…you know…the basics."

Collette nods. "I'm glad you found a school that could help you out. How're Allie and Dominic?"

"Good; they love it here."

"What about you?"

Trinity thought a moment. "I love it here…the students are nice…the teachers are great…" She thought about the trauma and her fears. "But I miss home…how's my Mami and Cara?" She wasn't able to call them today due to the chaos.

Collette tells her. "I haven't seen your mom a lot, but Cara is always at the restaurant—coloring pictures at the booth. A lot of them are of you and Dominic and Allie. She misses you."

Trinity sees the Bamf doll on her pillow and picks it up to hold. "Yeah…how's Jamie?"

Collette frowns. "He still isn't home…he called yesterday to let us know he's okay…he asked about you. He wanted me to tell you that he misses you and hopes everything is okay."

Trinity felt a lump in her throat. "I miss him too—Collette, just because I broke up with Jamie—that doesn't mean I stopped caring about him."

"Don't worry, he knows that…he just misses you a lot…" Collette gives her a small smile. "I got to go, bye Trin—"

The Skype turns off. Trinity sighs and shuts her laptop. She hugs her doll tightly, but puts him down when her phone goes off. She sees it's her mom and grimaces—well, she had to face her some time.

She answers. "Mami?"

"TRINITIA MARIE LEONARDO!" Her mom's voice breaks through hysterically. "Are you alright mija?"

"I'm fine Mami."

"You are in so much trouble—do you have any idea how worried I've been!" Her mom rants on for five more minutes and Trinity listens; happy to hear her mom's voice again. Her mom finishes and sighed. "Mija…I'm so glad you're safe. You have no idea."

Trinity smiled sadly. "I love you too Mami."

* * *

Dominic was watching the news on Sammy's laptop with Sammy. Apparently, Spiderman had struck again! The _Daily Bugle _said he was working beside the Green Goblin to rob a prestigious bank. But witnesses claimed Spiderman actually saved them from the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin on the screen looked like a skinny Hulk reject who wore high-tech silver and violet armor, threw round orange grenades, and rode a wicked-looking glider.

Sammy asked Dom. "So what do you think of Spiderman; friend or foe?"

Dominic replays the footage of Spiderman saving a couple of bystanders from a grenade blast. "Friend—J. Jonah is a prick."

Sammy nods as he closed the window. "Yeah, he bags on the X-Men all the time too—"

The door bursts open, and Hernando and Kenneth rush in. Hernando smiles. "Hey." He then goes over to the small bookshelf and pushes it to the right.

Sammy shuts the laptop and hops off the bed to help him.

Dominic gets up and looks at his cousin. "What's going on?"

Kenneth explains. "The Professor and the others are back and called the X-Men and Leon to his office."

"So…why are we moving the bookshelf—"

"Shh!" Hernando shushed him and whispered. "When I came here Bobby showed me this vent—" He motions to the vent they uncovered. "And it connects to the Professor's office—it's so old that it isn't used for heating the place—but it carries sound better than Banshee's voice."

Dominic sits next to Hernando as Kenneth shuts the door, and a moment later they hear a door open and people's footsteps. Soon they heard a voice echo:

"I would like to know how this incident occurred." The Professor's voice resonated through the vent.

Dominic gaped at Sammy, who put a webbed finger up for silence.

Cyclops's voice answers. "There was an accident, and I know that this isn't the best answer—"

"Yes, as you've said: 'That's putting it lightly'." The Professor sounded cross. "Trinity being able to runaway into danger is even more upsetting."

Forge speaks. "It's my fault Prof.—if I paid more attention—this wouldn't have happened."

The Professor replies sternly. "There is enough blame to go around Forge—we are fortunate that Trinity is safe and that you all made in time to save her from Sabretooth."

Sammy and Hernando's eyes widen in shock, and Dominic felt confused at looked at his cousin who was deathly pale. Dominic felt sick and wondered who Sabretooth was and heard the Professor continue:

"Jean, could you please show us what you found?"

Jean answers. "Of course."

There was a moment of silence, and a couple of audible gasps.

Ororo gasped. "Goddess…Sabretooth was on an assassination?"

"And he won't stop until the job's done." Logan's voice growled.

Dominic felt really sick now.

"Magneto sent him after her; he's not going to stop—" Leon's voice was dark and grim.

Jean interrupts. "We're not going to send a strike team to take out Magneto, Leon."

Leon snorts. "Then send one man—I volunteer."

Kenneth's jaw dropped as he mouthed: "Shit."

"You won't last a minute against him." Shiro speaks up.

"You'd be surprised." Leon tells him.

Logan answers. "I agree with Leon here; we need to take the fight to Magneto—"

"We aren't the Brotherhood Logan." Scott's voice clipped. "The X-Men aren't murderers."

Sean's voice echoes clearly; like he was in the room with the boys. "I agree, but if we don't do something—what would stop Magneto or Sabretooth from coming back here?"

"Enough." Professor Xavier commands. "Scott is right. We cannot afford to strike against Magneto—it is too dangerous. We need to protect Trinity—we need to set up better security to protect her as well as the other students. None of this should be mentioned to the students. Also, I also find the Creed business curious; I will be sure to further investigate this…" There was a pause. "Now, remember what I've said, Trinity has just come in to speak to us."

A minute later there was a knock.

"Come in Trinity." The professor called.

The door opened and there were small footsteps.

They hear Kurt ask. "How's your leg liebchen?"

Trinity answered. "Better. Moira checked it out and said I should be fine…there's something I want to tell you…you probably already know."

Miss Braddock speaks. "Don't keep us in suspense Trinity."

The boys lean in around the vent.

Trinity tells them. "I thought about it and…and I want to be an X-Man."

The room was silent, and the boys look at each other; Trinity really was serious about this.

The silence continued, and Logan broke it. "Well what do you know…"

* * *

**Author: "Yays! Trinity is alive and well...wellish."**

**Brother: "And now she wants to b a X-Man...there goes the team."**

**"Haha. BTW, I was actually going to have Nightcrawler and Jean save Trin from the fall, but my awesome co-creator thought of using Scott instead."**

**"I thought it would be interesting to use someone you didn't suspect; I also wanted Scott to be awesome-"**

**"In our version; Scott is a bad-ass!"**

**"You're not cool enough to use that language."**

**"Sorryz. Yay the Lafayettes are finally there! Leon is freakin amazing...I don't why...but if I had to choose a voice actor for him...it would be Hugh Laurie..."**

**"Hugh Laurie's American dialect?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Ok."**

**"...DUN...DUN...DUH! Magneto is causing trouble, Trinity wants to be an X-Man, and the boys got more than they bargained for!"**

**"Did you tell them updates will be slow?"**

**"Yes..." Author sniffs. "My laptop crashed...my poor laptop-luckily all my stories are safe on my precious flashdrive and my awesome bro/co-creator is letting me use his laptop."**

**"Against my will."**

**:p**

**"We don't own Marvel. We only own oc's. Hugh Laurie is awesome. We love reviews. Thanks for reading!"**


	15. Chapter 14: No Pain No Gain

Kenneth suddenly hears someone walking into the hall outside the room and jumped up to move the bookshelf over the vent. Hernando helped him as Sammy leapt onto his bed and reopened his laptop. There was just a knock on the door. "Hey boys, it's me!" Mansi called.

"Come on in Mrs. Lafayette." Hernando says, while leaning against the bookshelf nonchalantly ( a bit too nonchalantly).

Mansi walks in with a plate of cookies and Extreme romps in and jumps on his owner. Hernando falls to the ground laughing as his Great Dane licked up his face. Mansi smirks and says. "Hey, I thought I heard you guys in here. What're you up to?"

Dominic felt his heart hammer and Kenneth nudging him with his foot to keep quiet.

Sammy says. "I was just telling everyone about this news story with Spiderman and the Goblin."

"Really, with a blank screen?" Mansi points out.

"Are those cookies for us tia?" Kenneth asked.

Mansi shrugged. "Nope…do you want one?"

The boys surge around the plate and grabbed themselves a cookie. Hernando tried to grab a second one, but Mansi snatched it away. "Ah! Do you want to lose a finger?"

Hernando smiled. "No ma'am," He takes a bite of his cookie. "Mmm! You make the best galletas Mrs. Lafayette."

She grinned. "Aw, thanks Hernando. But flattery won't get you more." She leaves and tells them. "Night boys."

Dominic shoved his cookie into his mouth; savoring the melted chocolate and sugary taste. Extreme lumbered over and sat on his legs; pinning him to the ground as he sniffed his face. Kenneth didn't eat his treat yet and spoke up. "What're we going to do?"

Sammy looks up as he nibbled on his cookie. "What?"

Kenneth nods toward the covered vent. "Sabretooth and Magneto are after Trin!"

Dominic slides his legs out from Extreme, who whines, and stands up. "Hold on—who's Magneto? Who the hell is Sabretooth?"

The other three boys look at each other nervously and the only noise in the quiet room was Extreme's panting. Kenneth finally explains. "You know tio's stories about the Brotherhood?"

Dominic nodded.

"Did he ever tell you who started the Brotherhood?"

"No."

"Magneto." Kenneth said the name with tone of reverence and fear. "He's a mutant that can control metal…he's a powerful Omega and doesn't just lead the Brotherhood, but also the Acolytes."

Dominic narrowed his eyes. "Why did he send a Sabretooth after Trin?"

"Not a Sabretooth hombre, the Sabretooth." Hernando tells him, and for the first time Dom saw the teenage boy frowning grimly.

Sammy adds. "He's bad news…"

"Is he a mutant?" Dominic asked.

Kenneth tells him. "Yeah. He's like the dark version of Wolverine; he can heal from anything, has heightened senses, and is a bloodthirsty killer."

Dominic felt like he was about to toss his cookies...(literally). "Why are they trying to kill Trin?"

Kenneth shook his head. "I don't know Dom…Magneto's the kind of man that would eagerly go to war for the 'mutant cause'…but he would be the last guy to kill his own kind."

"And Sabretooth?"

Sammy tells him. "The professor was right—your sister was lucky."

Kenneth tells them. "We can't tell anyone about this. Also, we need to keep an eye on Trinity—like someone needs to be with her 24/7."

Hernando grins. "I volunteer."

Dominic glares at him. "This isn't a joke."

Hernando frowns and explains. "Don't worry Dominic, Trinity is safe here as long as she doesn't leave campus."

Sammy nods. "Yeah, and I'll help you out too."

Dominic sighs; feeling relieved. "Thanks guys."

Kenneth puts a hand on his shoulder. "We're in this together cous'. No one is gonna lay hand on Trin while I'm around."

"Diddo." Sammy says.

Hernando smirks as he rubbed his dog's ears. "Well, looks like we've got ourselves a mission."

* * *

Trinity was sitting at the kitchen table eating up the crepes Mansi had made. Mansi was still cooking omelets as Xi'an helped her. Trinity sees Kurt saunter in and stretch as he sat beside her. He asks. "Ready for your training fraulien?"

She tilts her head in surprise. "You mean—I'm going to be an X-Man?" When she told everyone her decision she was told they would consider whether or not she should be a X-Man. Leon stated to her that he had to ask her mother…which was the equivalent of saying 'Not a chance'.

Kurt smirked. "Well, not really—but that doesn't mean we can't start your training early—"

Leon walks in. "Did you mention how the extra training lessons are acting as a punishment?" He grabs a plate and tells her. "You'll be training with all the instructors in self-defense, discipline, and control. Your sessions with Jean will be longer as well."

Kurt leans in to whisper. "Don't worry we'll still have some fun."

Trinity smiled widely—she was glad that she was at least getting some training…maybe her mom would say yes…and maybe hell would freeze over as well. She didn't let this deter her happiness though as she ate her breakfast.

* * *

Allie was eating a pear as she watched Logan work on the X-Bike. He would sometimes give her a scary glance that would make most students run back inside, but it didn't bother her. She started talking to him. "You remind me of a cowboy Mr. Logan."

"Really?"

"Yeah, like a rough and tumble Shane."

"How do you know about _Shane_ kid?"

"Uncle Leon read _Shane_ to me when I visited him last year."

"Did your dad ever read to you?" Logan asked.

Allie thinks for a moment. "Yeah, when I was little he read me _Strega Nona._"

Logan nods as he continues his work.

Allie asked. "What's your favorite book Mr. Logan?"

"_The Things They Carried. _I also like Ernest Hemingway's stories."

"Are they war stories?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. I like Westerns and Fantasy. The heroes are the best."

"You ain't into princesses, half-pint?" Logan smirked at her in amusement.

"Sure, but they don't get to do a lot fun stuff like fighting or go on journeys."

Logan snorts as he stood up and wiped up his hands. He walks passed her and she follows him. He turns to face her. "Look half-pint, I appreciate the company—"

"Same here." Allie tells him with a wide smile.

"But sometimes I need to be alone." He tells her, and he then leaves her.

Allie looks down at her feet, but lifts her head to call. "Ok, I'll see you later then!" When he doesn't answer, she sighed and went to go play with May and Nessie.

* * *

Trinity sat before Jean and the candle. She was breathing slowly, just as she was trained, and pretended that there was no flame before her. She felt a little impatient though, she simply wanted to begin her X-Men training with the others. Trinity suddenly heard the sputter of a dying flame. She opened her eyes to see a smoking wick. Jean held a stopwatch and smiled. "A minute and 30 seconds. Good, you're doing much better, and the only reason the candle was snuffed out was due to your excitement for training."

Trinity nodded as she leapt to her feet. "Who trains me first?"

Jean gets up as well and grabs a package from her dresser. "Shiro wants to train you first."

Trinity frowned; everyone told her that Shiro and Logan were the harshest trainers. Also, Shiro's ability to project flame, and his cold attitude frightened her.

Jean hands her the package. "Here, it's the standard uniform for the X-Men."

Trinity opens it and sees a black, spandex-like suit. She smiles at Jean. "Thanks." She rushes out of the room to put it on. Jean watches her in surprise and smiled; maybe some X-training is what she really needed.

* * *

Storm stood outside with Sofia, Lorna, Kendra, and Dominic. The children stood before her in their X-Uniforms. She tells them. "Today, we'll practice our flight. Our first exercise is to see how long you can hover. We'll start with hovering five feet from the ground." Her eyes turn white and glowed as she summoned some wind to lift her off the ground. She then lands. "Just stay up as long as you can. Lorna, would you like to go first?"

Lorna nods as she gets six metal orbs out of her pocket. She lifted four of them up, her hand slightly shimmering with magnetic power, as the metal orbs revolved around her. She then moved the second orb from her palm into her other hand, and she closed her hands around her two orbs as the others circled her. She soon started to levitate in the air with the help of the magnetic fields she created from the orbs. She stayed hovering over the ground with a proud smile.

Ororo praised her. "Very good Lorna. Now it is your turn Kendra."

Kendra bit her lip nervously, but Dominic give her a reassuring nudge. She takes a few breaths as she began to glow with a soft silvery light, and she slowly began to rise from the ground. The white light covered her body and mage her lavender eyes shine and her dark hair flow by itself. She continues to rise slowly, but after a minute, her light flickered and she fell back onto her feet. She sighed, but Storm tells her. "You did really well for your first hover Kendra, especially since you just discovered the levitation properties of your powers."

Kendra allowed herself to smile at the praise. "Thank you aunt Ororo."

Storm then nods to Sofia.

Sofia smiled as she spread her arms out. Wind whistled around her as she was lifted from the ground. It was like she was in her own personal cyclone as she floated above them.

Storm grinned. "You are getting better Sofia." She turns to Dominic. "Do not be worried if you do not get this the first time. Hovering takes plenty of control of one's powers to master."

Dominic nods, and took a deep breath. He felt his legs vibrate with energy, and tried to release the sonic waves slowly. As he lets go of the energy, there was a huge "BAM" and Dominic shot off into the air; a sonic blast that threw his classmates to the ground and sent him flying over twenty feet into the air. Storm flew after him and caught him before he fell to the ground and landed before the girls; carrying Dominic bridal style. The three girls scowl at Dominic as they pulled grass from their hair and brushed the dirt off their uniforms. Dom grinned sheepishly. "Um…again?"

* * *

Trinity was outside with Master Shiro…she heard that he was a master in different types of fighting, and was trained in the ways of the ninja. They said he came from a major crime family in Japan, and his father taught Shiro in all the ways of ninjitsu, espionage, and other impressive skills. She stood erect; waiting for her lesson. Shiro scrutinized her and told her. "You need to stretch and warm up."

Trinity immediately drops to the ground and placed her feet together to do a butterfly stretch. As she does this, Shiro walks behind her. She suddenly feels a pressure on her back as she was pushed forward. She let out a yelp as her leg and back muscles began to burn, and her nose was only a few inches from the ground in front of her.

Shiro tells her. "Your body needs to learn how to be more flexible." He pushes her forward over her legs even more with his foot. Trinity's nose was now only an inch from the ground and she was in even more pain.

Trinity whined. "That…hurts…sir."

"Of course it does, but we will only practice our stretching today, so do not worry about straining yourself." He keeps her bent over her legs and feet as her muscles burned from the exertion.

She then asks. "Um…Master Shiro…is it true you're a ninja?"

"Yes."

"Oh…what did you do?"

"I performed missions in espionage for my clan Yoshida; mostly mercenary work. But when I joined the X-Men, I decided to change my ways."

Trinity felt her eyes widen. "Oh, why?"

Shiro thinks for a moment and answered. "I was tired of washing other people's blood from my uniform."

After that, Trinity remained silent.

After ten minutes, he lets her up. "Good, now let's try something more advanced."

Trinity gaped as she wondered what she got herself into.

* * *

Allie was finished playing fetch with May and Nessie and went into the laundry room, only to see the second washing machine was pulled out like everyone said it was and even saw the scorch marks on the wall from the explosion. She sees her aunt Mansi was unloading the laundry from the dryer, and Fleur was sitting ontop of the rumbling washing machine while playing with a rubix cube. Allie was about to run away, but Mansi says. "Nuh-uh, Allie, you're gonna help me with this."

Allie moaned. "Aw man." She goes over and grabs a laundry basket. "Where to?"

"Betsy's room."

Allie rushes off to Betsy's room, noticing the load had a lot of large lacy bras in it, and as soon as she got onto the second floor she placed the basket down and slid it over to Betsy's door. She knocked on her door and waited. There wasn't a answer and she wondered if she should put it in her room, but waited. She picked up a frilly black bra and examined it. "Dang." She saw it also had rhinestones on the straps. "Why are there always so many frills, jewels and designs on these things? It's not like anyone is going to see it under a shirt." She said as she held it to her chest. "Would I ever get so big?"

"Maybe if you're lucky." A British voice answers.

Allie whips around and sees Betsy was smiling down at her; trying not to laugh. "If you like it so much, you can borrow it."

Allie throws the bra back into the basket. "No thanks." She runs away in embarrassment as Betsy chortled in amusement.

Allie's second basket was Kurt's, she noticed that his pants had holes in the back for his tail. The holes were frayed and wondered if Mansi would sew up the edges for Kurt. She then smiled when she saw a few pairs actually were sewn. She opened the door that lead up the stairs to the attic. She sighed as she lugged the basket up the stairs. She made it to the second floor and tapped the door with her foot. "Kurt! I got your laundry!"

She heard a familiar 'BAMF' and soon the door opened. Kurt smiled down at Allie. "Danke häschen."

Allie smiled and shrugged. "No prob. Tia Mansi sewed up the frays on your pants."

Kurt takes the basket and sees. "Very nice." He then peers at Allie with a grin. "Is Logan too busy that you decided to do some laundry?"

Allie sighed. "Yeah…he said he needed to be alone."

Kurt puts the basket down and kneels down to the girl's level. "He's like that."

"Does Logan not like me?" Allie asked nervously. "I know sometimes I can be loud, brash…and aggressive."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Now who told you that?"

"My teachers, other parents, the principle…a lot of people at my school." She shrugged like she didn't care…but she kinda did care.

Nightcrawler smiles at her gently. "Actually, herr Logan likes you very much. He doesn't let just anyone follow him around. Trust me."

Allie grinned. "Really?"

Kurt's tail snakes over and made a cross motion over his heart. "Cross my heart häschen."

Allie skipped down the stairs as she called. "Grazi Kurt!"

* * *

Trinity was glad she was now training with her uncle, maybe this training would be less…painful. Her body was sore and loose from Shiro's stretching…she didn't even know a person's body could bend like that without snapping. She was annoyed her uniform was clinging to her body like a second skin; showing off her breasts and round stomach more than it should, so she kept her arms crossed as she waited for her uncle. Leon walks out of the Institute with a bottle of water, towel, and a stopwatch. Trinity skips over to him. "So, what are we going to do?"

"_You _are going to run. I want you to run 20 laps around the school as fast as you can." He tells her.

Trinity paled as she stared at the massive building. "20?"

Leon thinks for a moment. "You're right, 20 laps isn't appropriate. Make it 25."

Trinity grimaced. "I'm just going to run?"

Leon snorts. "Of course, I've seen you fight, so running would be your best option when you're in danger. So, we are going to perfect your running. Instead of having to fight your enemy, you can outrun them!"

Trinity blushed in embarrassment. "I can fight!"

Leon laughs. "Sure—now go!" He starts the stopwatch and Trinity was forced to start her laps.

* * *

Allie runs off to Bobby's room with his basket, his room was across from Dom's. She gave Bobby his clothes, and he leaves, but comes back to give her the empty basket. "Do you want to have some fun?"

Allie nodded.

Bobby grinned as he carries the basket with him. "Follow me."

Allie follows him to the stair case. Bobby drops the basket and holds out his hands. He creates an ice slope over the stair case. He turns to Allie. "I'll race you."

Allie squealed in excitement as she gets into the laundry basket like a sled. "You're on!"

Bobby laughs as he pushes her onto the slope and slides down beside her. Allie screamed and laughed as she lifted her hands into the air. She passed Bobby as she neared the bottom.

"Don't worry," Bobby tells her. "As soon as you reach the bottom, you'll slow to a stop."

There was suddenly a crack and Allie came to a sudden stop as she was flipped into the air. The ice shattered from their weight, and now Allie was flying into the air.

"Allie!" Bobby exclaimed.

At the bottom of the stairs were Logan and Dr. MacTaggart. Moira shrieked as the child fell. Logan wasted no time as he leapt up and caught the girl in his arms. Allie felt the air leave her lungs briefly when Logan caught her. He gives her a shake. "Half-pint?"

Allie blinked. "Yeah?"

Logan sighed, and turned to Bobby with an angered glare. "Drake, what the hell were ya' thinking!"

Allie was surprised that Logan was still holding her as he told Bobby he'd be serving two extra hours of training tomorrow. Bobby looked terrified, but luckily, Moira intervened. "Now Logan, it was an accident. Bobby, clean this mess up. And Logan, you can put Allie down."

Logan notices he was still holding the girl and puts her down as he told her. "You could've snapped yer neck, half-pint. What were ya thinking?"

Allie grinned mischievously. "Mr. Logan, were you scared?"

Logan gave her a stormy look as she gaped. "You were scared!"

He pulls his lip into a scowl and growled. "Half-pint…"

"You're treading on thin ice?" Bobby finished his sentence.

Allie giggled, but as soon as Logan's head turned toward Bobby, the teenager bolted.

Logan shoves Allie over to Moira. "Make sure she didn't hurt herself Moira, I need to go." He leaves in a huff.

Moira shook her head as she checked Allie. "Yer lucky you didn't hurt yourself lass, and that Logan caught you."

"I know right?" Allie beamed happily.

* * *

Trinity stumbles to a stop as she doubles over. She was drenched with sweat and panting in breaths of air. Now her legs ached not just from the stretching, but from the running. She was starting to wish she was back inside with Jean; going over telepathic and emotional exercises. Leon stops the watch and shook his head. "There's definitely room for improvement." He opens the water and pours it over her head. Trinity didn't even mind and sighed as the cool water pours over her seething scalp. Leon then gives her the water, which she gulped down without hesitation, and the towel so she could clean up. He smiles as he pats her back. "Good job, now it's time to train with Scott."

Trinity nods as she sat down to let her lungs catch up with her. Before she could finish her water, Scott walked up. She groaned as she rubbed the towel over her face, tossed it aside with her bottle and stood. Scott gives her a nod. "Today, I'm going to teach you only one exercise."

_Thank God._ Trinity thought as she watches Scott spread his legs in a traditional fighting stance and placed his fists at his sides. He shows her how he would strike the air with one fist, and then switch to the other with ease. He straightens up. "Your turn."

She gets into the stance. He nods for her to continue, and she struck her fist forward. She looks at him, and Scott simply stood there watching her. She then pulled back her fist and struck with her left one. Scott critiques her. "No. You strike as you pull your first hit back in."

Trinity tilted her head. "That's what I did."

Scott goes to stand in front of her. He strikes out with his left. "Watch." As he pulls his left fist back, the other shot out and as soon as they passed each other at the same instance, each hand rotated. The left hand turned over as the right hand turned in the opposite way, so the right hand had its knuckles up to strike as the left had its palm up to stay in the stance. Scott continued as Trinity watched in amazement at his speed and force of the hits.

She then tried it herself; finding it had to make sure that each fist turned correctly and each strike was straight and controlled. She managed to get it though, and asked between strikes. "How many should I do?"

Scott was standing upright and watching her closely. "I'll tell you when you're finished."

Trinity didn't know how long this went on, only that her arms started to hurt. The only time Scott spoke was to tell her to focus, straighten her arm, or not to punch too hard or she'd hurt herself. She felt her back sweat as she delivered each strike, every punch began to slow as she grew tired. Finally, Scott said. "Alright, you're done."

Trinity sighed as she let her arms fall to her sides. "Thank you."

Scott smirked. "Don't worry, you only have two sessions left."

"Who's next?"

"Logan."

Trinity's eyes widened. "Oh…'kay."

* * *

All the students were in the Danger Room with Forge, Banshee, and Marvel. Forge was in the control room, while Sean and Jean were on the ground level facing the students. All the kids wore X-Uniforms and were impatiently waiting to hear what they would do. Sean smiles at the students. "Today, we'll be practicing our powers. You all will be split into two teams. Your job is to get passed all the obstacles we throw at ya. You can use your powers, but you can't leave anyone behind. The first team that gets to the flag." The students see a pole with a green flag rise from the ground across the room. "Wins."

Jean nods toward Bobby and Lorna. "The blue team consists of Iceman, Polaris," She motions toward Hernando. "Grip. Kendra, Dominic." She then motions to Amara. "and Magma.

The red team consists of Pyro." John smirks. "Winddancer." Sofia pulls her long hair into a ponytail. "Allie and Kenneth. Squidboy." Sammy nods. "and Wolfsbane." Rahne changes into her wolf form and trots over to her team. "Now remember, the point of the exercise is to work as a team and get through the obstacle together."

Amara raises her hand. "Who's team leader?"

Sean laughs. "It's a team exercise; you'll just have to decide whether you need a leader or not." He and Jean levitate over to the control room. "You better hurry up and decide though!"

Kenneth turns to his team. "I think Winddancer should be team leader."

Pyro/John raised an eyebrow. "The girl can barely fly straight, let alone lead a team."

Sofia scoffed. "That is so not true John! I accept being the leader, alright?" She looks at her teammates who simply shrug in agreement.

Sofia smirked. "Very good. Pyro and Kenneth, you two work as our offence. Allie and I will work as defense. Squidboy, you'll watch our backs. Wolfsbane, you take point."

The room started to flicker into a holographic environment as the team readied themselves.

Grip/Hernando turns to Iceman/Bobby. "How about it Bobby—want to lead?"

Iceman shrugs. "Why not?"

Polaris/Lorna asks the others. "Any who oppose?"

Dommic and Kendra shook their head. Grip throws a fist into the air. "I'm for it."

Magma raises her hand. "I want Polaris to be leader."

Polaris scrunched her nose. "No thank you. I'm only using my powers to get through obstacles—not to lead."

Amara rolled her eyes. "If you don't want to fight, then why come to Danger Room practice?"

"Because this simulation is an obstacle course to perfect our powers, Amara." Lorna tells her.

Iceman puts an arm around his girlfriend. "Don't worry hon', I'll protect you."

Now it was Lorna's turn to roll her green eyes. "Just because I'm a pacifist, that doesn't mean I'm helpless."

The ground suddenly started to shift and the room turned into a winter forest. Iceman smirked. "Now this is my kind of place." Ice surrounds his hands as he orders. "Keep close—Dom and Polaris will be our main destroyers for anything that comes our way. Everyone else, keep on your toes. Grip, you want to scout ahead?" Hernando takes off his shoes and stuck his hands and feet onto the trunk of a tree. He clambers up the tree, which was a metal pole holographed to look like a tree. As he climbed, Kendra gasped from the cold and could see her breath steam from her mouth as the temperature dropped. Dominic shivered with the rest of the group, but Bobby seemed right at home in the freezing cold. Amara sneezed. "Ugh, I can't take it anymore." She suddenly burst into flame. Dominic leapt back with a yell, and Magma's skin seemed to melt and was now dark red and her gold curls turned into yellow fire that danced around her simmering orange and red face. The kids gather around her to get warm. Dominic grinned at her. "So that's why your mutant name is Magma."

Amara looks at the ceiling. "What is it you Americans say?"

"Duh?" Bobby asked.

Amara nods. "Duh Dom."

Dominic chuckled. "My bad, I should've known."

Polaris asks Dominic. "Did you decide your mutant name yet?"

Dom shook his head and asked his cousin. "What about you Ken?"

Kendra smiled to herself. "Well, on the ride here, Kenneth and I thought of our names. I'm Artemis and Kenny's Apollo."

Amara exclaims. "The Goddess of the hunt, moon, and chastity—that's a great title for you Kendra! Apollo—God of the arts and sun…strange. Kenneth is the hunting type, but you're the artist."

Grip jumps down from the tree. He points to the left. "The flag is that way. But I couldn't see the others.

Iceman creates an ice pathway and hops onto it. He holds out a hand to Kendra and lifts her on. Kendra slips a little and clings to Bobby's back. Iceman nods. "There you go. Everyone create a chain and we'll get there in no time. Polaris, you fly behind us and watch our backs."

Dominic gets on and holds onto his cousin's thin shoulders. Hernando gets onto the ice barefoot and didn't even slide or slip. "Ay! This is freezing." He simply placed one hand onto Dominic's back, and his hand stuck to him like glue. Amara managed to melt back into human form and was hesitant to get on the ice. "I don't think this will hold all of us…maybe I should go on foot."

Grip gives her his hand. "Come on Amara, I'll hold onto you." He gives her a wink. "And I won't let go."

Amara finally takes his hand and he pulls her into a tight embrace. "See!"

Amara squirmed uncomfortably. "I should've stayed on the ground."

Iceman calls. "Just hold on." He pushes forward and ices up a path ahead on them. The line of children glide forward quickly as Polaris flies after them; using the metal bands around her cuffs and boots to levitate.

Winddancer flew into the air and passed the trees to get a clear view. She sees the flag was to their right and only a steep ice ridge. She also saw Bobby gliding toward it with his team. She flies back to the ground and sees Pyro created a fire ring around his team to keep them warm. She flies passed them. "Follow me! The blue team is almost at the flag."

* * *

Everyone follows Sofia. Wolfsbane was the fastest runner, as well as the only one on all fours, and soon took point—following the scent of the opposing team. Kenneth was glowing with solar energy to keep himself warm as he followed Pyro. Allie ran beside her cousin and Squidboy ran behind her. She panted excitedly. "When do you think we'll reach an obstacle?"

Sammy was checking behind them and saw movement. "Look out."

A gun lifts from the ground and started shooting round pellets at them.

Winddancer threw some wind to deter the first round from her team. "Allie!"

Allie lifted her arms and created a shield around her and her team. The pellets splattered green paint over the field.

"Paintballs!" Squidboy exclaimed.

Winddancer asks Kenneth. "Can you blast the cannon?"

Kenneth couldn't see passed the paint splatters on the force-bubble. "If I get a clear view."

Rahne puts up a paw and scratched at the solid force field.

Windancer orders. "Allie, put the field down when I tell you, and Pyro build us a wall of fire behind Kenneth to protect us, alright?"

Pyro grins as he created another ball of fire. Allie licked her lips as she waited. Kenneth leans forward; ready to run out. Winddancer was on the ground now, and shouts. "Now!"

Allie lowers the field as Kenneth leapt forward with his hands shooting out and a brilliant beam of solar rays firing out to smash into the gun. That was the last thing the team saw as Pyro created a firewall behind Kenneth to melt the oncoming paintballs. Squiboy suddenly jumped in front of Wolfsbane. "Watch out—crap!" A steaming paintball splattered green into Sammy's leg.

Sean's voice echoed through the room. "Squiboy! You're injured, so someone will have to carry you."

Squidboy sighs. "Right."

He falls to the ground in mock injury as Pyro lowered the wall of fire. "Sorry mate."

They see Kenneth was paint-less and the smoking remains of the paintball gun.

Wolfsbane shifts to human form. "Thanks Sammy." She hoists him onto her back and shifts back into wolf form. Squidboy holds onto her tightly.

Winddancer nods. "I'll serve as point then. Pyro you'll watch our backs and Kenneth, you'll be up here with me. Allie, you make sure to protect Wolfsbane and Squidboy from any other attacks."

* * *

Logan was busy strapping weights to Trinity's legs. It felt like Logan was strapping 10 lb. sandbags to her legs. She already had weights on her arms too. When Logan was finished, her arms hung uselessly from her sides, and she could barely lift her legs. She asks him. "Why do I have weights Logan?"

Logan tells her as he puts on punching gloves. "Because, in combat, you'll be tired, slow, and weighed down with provisions. The weights are simply practice for the real thing. You'll have to block and dodge my attacks."

"How!" Trinity asked anxiously.

Logan smirked. "You'll have to adapt and figure it out, but you can't take off the weights. Don't worry, my gloves will keep my knuckles from splitting your face, and you can punch me back if ya want." He raised his gloved fists.

Trinity froze in fear as Logan circled her. "I—I don't want to do this exercise—"

"Come on kid, we didn't even start yet." Logan leapt forward and struck her in the chest. Trinity gasped painfully as she fell back. "Get up."

Trinity had difficulty rising to her feet, only to be hit to the ground again by Logan. She cried as he struck her in the diaphragm; knocking the air out of her. She fell onto her side.

Logan waited for her. "Up."

Trinity remained on the ground; she was so tired and she clutched the painful spot where Logan hit her.

Logan gives her leg a small kick. "Come on."

Trinity shook her head.

Logan gives her another nudge. "I said 'up' kid. You wanted training; I'm giving it to ya'." He watched as she shakily got to her feet and shook her head again.

He growled. "Kid, if you quit now, you'll never become an X-Man. You quit now, you're essentially revoking the chance to protect your family. You want Sabretooth to get his claws on Allie?"

Trinity's eyes flashed black with fear. Logan threw another punch, and this time, Trinity actually tried to block it, but his fist slid passed and smacked her face. Trinity then shoved the glove away and swung her other arm to hit Logan; using the momentum to gather force into the hit. Logan let her hit him in the face; knowing she needed the confidence boost.

She gasped as her fist slammed into his cheek. She moved away as quickly as she could to dodge a hit from Logan; he was smiling now. He continued to try to hit her, and she even managed to block some of the hits. Soon, she learned it was better to dodge, and used every fiber in her legs to move them quickly to escape his hits.

* * *

Iceman gasped. "Shit, hold on!" Metal coils had erupted from the ground to shatter the ice path before them. Polaris flew over and stilled the metal coils before they could do anymore damage as Iceman slid to a stop and covered the coils in ice. Suddenly, the ice shattered beneath them and a coil wraps around Grip and Magma. The two yelled out in surprise and Hernando was forced to let go of Dominic. Dom fell to the ground and sees Kendra was on her knees next to him. Another coil leapt from the ground to get them. Dominic sent a sonic blast at the coil and it snapped back, and laid on the ground sputtering out static. Kendra was trying to still the coil holding Amara and Hernando, but her light wasn't strong enough. Polaris soon came to the rescue and bent the metal away, and freed the two teammates. Magma then stepped away and turned into her fire-lava form to melt any other coils that tried to tackle them. Soon they were surrounded by broken, melted, and frozen coils. Kendra sees the flag and points it out. "There it is!"

The team was about to advance, but a huge wall of fire leapt up and blocked them. The X-Students leapt back fearfully, and Dominic bristled as he heard John laughing at them from the other side of the firewall. Dominic ran forward and sent a sonic wave through the firewall and the fire broke apart from the force. This gave his team members a chance to run through. Pyro tried to keep them back with fire, but Dominic ran through the flames and tackled him. "Are you crazy! You could've burned someone!"

Pyro shoves him off and holds him down. "If you can't take the heat then—"

"Get off!" Dominic growled.

"That's what your sister told me last night." Pyro ridiculed.

Dominic felt his blood boil, but before he could shoot John off of him with a sonic boom, water splashed onto Pyro and knocked him off. Dominic sees Kendra's hands were glowing with silver light as water droplets floated around her.

* * *

Winddancer was flying toward the flag when she heard a shout. She saw Pyro spreading fire. She stopped in shock and flew higher to see what was happening. She sees Pyro was blocking the blue team with fire. She snapped. "Pyro—stop that! We're supposed to get the flag—not fight the other team!" Of course, he didn't hear her. She flew down when she sees Dominic and Pyro wrestling each other to the ground. Before she could intervene, Kendra had opened her canteen and gathered the water into her light orb. She then threw the orb and water at Pyro and knocked him off of Dominic. Winddancer stopped and gawked. _Where did Kendra learn to do that?_

Before she could think of an answer, Sammy shouts. "Winddancer, the flag!"

Winddancer turns to see Grip was climbing up the ice hill fast, and was about to grab the flag, but his hand met an obstacle. Allie had formed a cylinder force field around the flag; keeping it from Grip. Winddancer flew over to grab Grip, but he smiled at her and let go of the ice and fell. Winddancer tried to catch him with her winds, but Polaris showed up and caught her teammate and flew away.

Sofia hears Kenneth yell. "Winddancer!"

She sees Iceman created an ice wall around her red team, except for Wolfsbane and Squidboy; Rahne was fast as she leapt out of the closing ice walls with Sammy clinging to her back. Allie's field disappeared from the flag. Winddancer ignored the flag and flew down to help her team. She threw a huge wind gust to knock Iceman down, but he puts up an ice shield to block it. Pyro soon melted the ice wall around them, but Magma was also melting the sheer ice hill to reach the flag.

Polaris and flew toward the flag while holding out Grip to reach it. Winddancer threw a breeze at them, which shoved them two feet to the left—causing them to miss the flag complete. She suddenly heard a sonic blast erupt behind her and something grabbed onto her leg—pulling her down. Sofia saw Dominic was holding onto her leg and dragging her to the ground. She created a cyclone around them to keep herself up and knock Dominic off of her.

Pyro was throwing fireballs at Iceman with a happy grin on his sweating face, as Iceman blocked each fireball with ice and laughed as the fire hissed into harmless steam.

Allie had Artimus stuck in a force field cube and giggled as her cousin was pouting and kicking at the pink field. Kenneth suddenly sees Magma and shines a ray of sunlight into her eyes. Magma exclaimed as she stopped melting the ice ridge and rubbed her eyes. Polaris and Hernando were flying back to the flag. Grip reached for the flag, but before his fingers could touch it, Wolfsbane bounded up the ridge with Sammy. Wolfsbane snapped at Hernando's fingers and he snatched his hand back, only for Squidboy to grab the flag with web fingers and pull it down.

Everyone froze when they heard Rahne's happy howl and Squidboy cheering. "We won!"

The Red team gathered around their teammates.

Dominic shook his head. "You cheated."

Pyro snorts. "Still sore are you?"

Dominic glared at him. "Your team placed up a firewall—this wasn't a combat exercise—also your entire team needed to get to the flag. Not just two members."

Sofia interrupts. "I never ordered for a firewall Dom—"

Pyro waves her comment away. "Save it, no matter what you say, Nicky here would still be pissed he lost." He gives Dominic a patronizing grin. "Ain't that right Leonardo?"

Dominic glowered at John; he definitely reminded him of his old classmates. He answers. "You know what, Pyro-Maniac—" John narrowed his eyes as Hernando stifled a laugh. "You can take your matches and shove them up your—"

Kendra grabbed her cousin's arm and chastised. "Dominic!"

Pyro bared his teeth in a smirk. "No, let him say what he wants to say." He suddenly takes a match stick out from behind his ear.

Kenneth intervenes by grabbing John's hand that held the match. "That's enough."

John glared at Kenneth's hand. "Hands off…"

Kenneth was John's height and simply glared at him evenly. "Take it easy." Kenneth's blue eyes sparked as he tells him this and he lets John go.

The students nervously watched the exchange, until they heard Forge over the speaker:

"Red team wins…yay."

Jean floats up to them with Banshee. She looks at the teams. "We couldn't help hearing your disagreements. Dominic was right about the Red team breaking the rules, but the Blue team also broke some rules as well."

"Meaning?" Iceman asked.

Sean tells them. "It's a tie—you both loose."

The kids groan, but Marvel explains. "This was a team exercise—your entire team was meant to get to the flag." She gives Pyro and Dominic a look. "You were not supposed to attack the opposing team—"

"But in a real battle you'll have to." Pyro scowled. "If you want to 'prepare us' to be X-Men, then combat is totally appropriate."

Dominic scrunched his nose at Pyro. "What do you know about combat?"

John sniffs. "I've seen things that would make you soil yourself Leonardo—"

"Enough." Banshee's voice booms through the room; silencing the kids. He continues. "The mission failed. You all need to learn how to work as a team—I've seen impressive teamwork from some of you. Great leadership qualities too, but you all need to focus on the mission at hand."

Jean nods. "You all are dismissed."

The holograms shimmered and the room returned to its natural metal panels. Dominic heads to the locker room. Sammy catches up with him. "You're not angry we won are you?"

Dom shook his head. "No, but I was about to blast John across the room."

Sammy threw a glance behind him. "Don't worry about him; he can be jerk, but he's not around that much."

Dominic felt a glare on his back and turns around to see Pyro talking to Bobby and Lorna. John was staring at Dominic, while chewing on the matchstick. Dominic glared back as he went into the locker rooms with Sammy.

* * *

Kenneth finds Hernando in their room; sitting on the windowsill and watching the field. Kenneth walks up to him and asked. "How's Trin doing?"

Hernando points her out. "Logan is not taking it easy on her—but she got in a good punch."

Kenneth sees his cousin dodging and blocking hits from Logan, and winces when she was hit.

Hernando tells him. "By the way, you Lafayettes have balls, hombre."

"What?" Kenneth asked.

"Balls."

"Why?"

"Standing up to John." Hernando tells him. "You telling him to chill, Kendra knocking him off Dom, and Dom telling him off and fighting him. I mean, that guy scares the shit out of me."

"You're not friends with John?" Kenneth would always see Bobby, Hernando, and John hang out with each other at the Institute when he would visit.

Hernando makes a face. "Eh, not really. The guy is too…hot-headed. I mean, Bobby is tight with him, and Lorna likes him, but Sofia and me—well, we don't like the way he acts. The younger students stay clear of him. He's alright most of the time…but it's like being around a volcano—you don't know when he's going to blow. He's only been here for about a year, but it still feels like he's a new student."

Kenneth nods. "Yeah." He then watched his cousin bow to Logan and take the weights off her limbs. "Looks like Trin is heading inside."

Hernando gets up from the sill. "Alright, I'll go check on her."

Kenneth snorts. "You sure?"

Hernando gives him a grin. "Yeah, besides, Sofia wants to see how her first day of training went. Hasta luego."

"Hasta luego, amigo." Kenneth tells him as he watched his cousin trudge into the school.

* * *

Trinity sighed as she laid on her bed in exhaustion. She was covered with sweat, sore, and just plain tired. She didn't even have the energy to grab her laptop and put on a movie. There was a knock on her door and she moaned. "It's open."

Hernando and Sofia walk in. Sofia sucked in a breath of air. "Training with Logan?"

"And Shiro, and Leon, and Scott, and Jean." She groaned. "My body hurts."

Sofia sits beside her. "Don't worry, it'll get easier."

Hernando rubs Trinity's back. "No it won't, but we'll help you out."

Sofia waves a breeze into Hernando's face in annoyance and he simply cooed. "Oooh. That felt nice."

Sofia rolled her eyes, but asked Trinity. "Do you need a hot pack?"

Hernando asked. "Do you need a full-body massage?"

Trinity chuckled and told them. "Thanks guys, but I'm fine. Just sleepy, ya know?"

Sofia nods as she pulls Hernando out. "Ok we'll let you sleep."

Kurt had just made it to Trinity's room when Hernando and Sofia scurry out.

He asks. "How is she doing?"

Sofia tells him. "Just sore and tired."

"As well as hot." Hernando adds. Sofia elbows him.

Kurt smirked. "Well then, I better cool her off." He walks into her room as the two students watch.

Kurt sees Trinity was half-asleep on the bed. He leans over and asked. "Rough day liebchen?"

"The worst." She grumbled.

Kurt nods in understanding. "I'm afraid it's time for our training session."

Trinity grimaced as she sat up. "Uh-huh." She winced as she stretched. "Ow."

Kurt suddenly picks her up. "Lesson one—" He quickly teleports. Trinity shrieked as they were teleported outside—five feet in the air above the pool. Kurt hoots as they fell into the cool water. As soon as they were under he lets her go. Kurt swims to the top and laughs as Trinity splashed to the surface with a bewildered look on her face. "—Swimming.",

Trinity glares at him. "I'm in my X-Uniform—"

"Which works as a swimsuit as well." He swims around her, his tail brushes her leg playfully.

Trinity paddles after him. "Why didn't you warn me-?"

"Because, if you want to be an X-Man, you must deal with surprises well. Also, it was a gutt laugh for me."

"For you!" Trinity scoffed as she tried to hide a smile. "Ok, so what do I need to do?"

"Just swim around and let me see what you can do."

Trinity started with some basic strokes and then played around with different types of swimming as Kurt followed her. Trinity then decided to play a trick on her instructor and without warning, she got out of the pool. She limps away from the edge and Kurt swam after her. "What's up?"

She doesn't answer as he gets out and stands next to her to inquire. "Did you pull a muscle—"

Trinity turned around and pushed Kurt back into the pool. "Gotcha'!"

Trinity felt Kurt's surprise as he fell back, but his tail quickly wrapped around her waist to bring her with him. Trinity squealed as they hit the water together. Under the water Kurt was still holding onto Trinity and he grinned up at her in delight. Trinity snorted a laugh as bubbles escaped her nose to rise back to the surface. They kept themselves under as a new game emerged to see who could hold their breath longer. Trinity soon had to plug her nose after a few seconds and she had to swim back to the top to breathe. Kurt broke through after her and snickered. "I win."

Trinity splashed him and laughed. "You cheated; you were supposed to fall in!"

"Oh really? Well then, I guess I'll have to give you 10 demerits."

"Seriously?" She splashed him again.

Kurt splashes her back. "Well you do need to pay for that trick liebchen. Hmm, I suppose you'll have to have another session with us tonight."

"Tonight?" Trinity moaned; her sore muscles feeling sorer.

Kurt smiles; showing his gleaming fangs. "Ja; we'll be practicing our stealth, speed, and how to maneuver in the dark. We're playing flashlight tag!"

Trinity raised an eyebrow. "How is that X-Men training?"

"It's not, but it could be."

Trinity shrugged. "Alright…are you going to play too?"

He starts swimming around her again. "I won't just be playing—I'm going to win fraulien."

Trinity giggled as she swims after him. "Yeah right—I would be able to sense you in a heartbeat—I don't have to have a flashlight to see you all."

"We will see." He teases as he leaps out of the pool. He then pulls her out.

* * *

**Author: "I'm back."**

**Brother: "I'm sick. Cough cough."**

**"Big deal so am I, and I had take care of you and our sisters because our whole family is sick with colds."**

**"Well somebody isn't very compassionate today."**

**"Go cry me a river and jump in it."**

**"But that's too much water."**

**"What did you think about the chapter?"**

**"Um...it's pretty good. I especially liked how well you made us hate Pyro."**

**"Thank you."**

**"Oh yeah, and how much stupider can Bobby get? So I can make sure nobody dies in this thing."**

**"Spoiler alert!"**

**"Oopsies."**

**"Alright, the next chappie is flashlight tag! I remember my first flashlight tag...in New Jersey with twenty kids I never met before. I was five...and I lost my group with the flashlight...so I sat in the dark outside...waiting for help. And the tagger found me, but promised not to tag me if I didn't sell her out-"**

**"Does this story have an end?"**

**"Yes! So, I did as she said, but ran to my group and warned them. That night, I learned you must play under the table to survive. And always carry a spare flashlight."**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Brother: "I never played flashlight tag before."**

**"Our version is playing tag outside, in the dark, with no parental supervision...maybe, that isn't such a safe game..."**

**"So that's why X-kids are playing. ****We don't own Marvel. All rights reserved to Tim O'Brien's _The Things They Carried,_ and Ernest Tomie dePaola's _Strega Nona_"**

**"Bye fools! We love reviews. Thanks for reading."**


	16. Chapter 15: Tag!

Kendra had her dark skinny jeans and a lacy black tank top on. She sat outside on the steps and stared at the stars and moon. The moon was a silver crescent on the black night sky, and was only just a sliver of light. Indigo clouds float toward the moon to obscure the small source of light, but Kendra didn't mind; she had her own source of moonlight and the dark didn't scare her like it did her twin brother. She played with the rosary she had wrapped around her thin wrist; it held a silver cross that was her mother's. She always kept the rosary on her wrist, so she could wear her moonstone and silver necklace that her dad saved for her fifteenth birthday around her neck. She wore both trinkets everyday; just like Kenneth wore their mama's amber and gold ring as an earring on his right ear and carried around their father's bandana. The ring was the last thing Marisol wore, and the ring was broken when they found her. Mansi actually took the ring after Marisol passed away and had it fixed and made into an earring with metal studs for Kenneth. She hears a "bamf" and sees Kurt was next to her; his tail wrapped around a flashlight. "Schonen Abend noch." He greets.

Kendra smiled at him. "Buenos noches." She loved Kurt—he was the big brother she never had.

Kurt's eyes glowed in the dark. "Herr Kendra, don't you know we are all to meet on the left side of the school?"

Kendra sighed. "Aw… I thought it was the right. No wonder I've waited for so long."

Kurt laughs as he puts an arm around her and teleports her to the other side of the school. Kendra sneezed and waved the smoke away. "Thank you Kurt."

She sees Allie and Trinity, and goes over to sit with them. All of the X-Students (including Betsy, Kurt, Xi'an, and Forge) were there with flashlights.

Forge stands and explained. "Alright, we will be playing by X-Rules—"

Betsy interrupts. "Just because you put 'X' in front of everything, it doesn't make it a trademark Forge!"

Forge shushes. "Quiet or you'll be eX-spelled from the game!"

The younger kids laugh at the terrible joke as Forge continues. "Ok, you kids will be running around with your flashlights—you can't leave the fields, go into any buildings, hide in the woods, or go to the lake—oh yeah, and you can't hide in the pool—Sammy."

Sammy shrugs as Dom and Amara snickered.

Forge types something onto his metal arm. "Alright, I'll decide who's it—if you're 'it' you have to count to thirty—"

"Why thirty?" Bobby asked mischievously.

"Can it be fifty?" Hernando asked with a grin.

Forge folds his arms. "Thirty."

Xi'an giggles as she holds a finger to her lips to keep the boys quiet.

"Ok, everyone tries to get far away from the 'it' person. When the person is done counting, then they'll try to tag you, so you would lose the game, the first person tagged will be it for the next round or the tagger can 'switch' and let the person be the new tagger to surprise people. You have to touch the person to tag them. Also, you don't have to use flashlights—they're just to help you find your way around. And you can work in teams—but there is only one 'tagger'. The object of the game is to not get caught—Xi'an and I are going to supervise this game—and the tagger is—ha—good luck—Kurt's 'it'."

Rahne groans. "Ach—we're going to lose!" She quickly leaps into her wolf form and runs off as Kurt begins counting. Kendra grabs Allie's hand and pulls her along as the little girl was suppressing excited giggles. Trinity follows her, along with Sammy and Betsy.

Dominic runs off with Amara and Kenneth, as Hernando goes off where Rahne went. Sofia also flies off on her own, as Bobby and Lorna run off together. John wanders off without any hurry.

* * *

The Professor chuckles as he watched his students run about outside. Moira stood next to him as they gazed out the window. She hands him a cup of green tea as she held her own cup of coffee in her hands. Moira smiles as she sees her adopted daughter Rahne bound across the field in her wolf form.

Moira found Rahne at an austere Presbyterian orphanage. The girl was only five years old; her hair was shorn short and she was a timid little soul. When Moira discovered she was a mutant, she took her to Muir Island, her research facility, to test Rahne's abilities and soon, the two created a bond of mother and daughter. Moira then adopted Rahne as her own child. Rahne was fun-loving and steadfast; even though Sean told Moira she sheltered the girl too much and was too strict—Rahne never complained. Moira smiled as her daughter sprinted from Nightcrawler with great speed. She remembered when Rahne was terrified of him. The girl thought Kurt was a demon from her nightmares and didn't like his carefree antics…but after a while, Rahne accepted the young man. Now, Rahne would partake in any game with Nightcrawler and even stood up for him.

Sean walks in with Fleur stuck to his leg. Moira grinned. "Where's Mansi?"

"Doin' dishes, and I made the mistake of asking if she wanted any help. So she gave me Fleur." Sean explains as he pulls the toddler off his leg. She squirms and runs over to the professor. She cooed as she held his hand in her tiny ones. "Holda me, tio Charlie!"

Xavier smiled as he picked her up and set her on his knee. "Did you have fun with Sean?"

Fleur giggled and nods. "He carry me."

"That's nice of him." Xavier smirked.

Sean shrugged as he sat on the couch. "I told her 'no' the first time, but when she hugged my leg—I was like putty in her hands."

Fleur started to examine Xavier's tie as she burbled. "Blak an' yell-o…"

"Blue and yellow." He corrects her on the colored stripes.

Fleur grinned and nods as she tugs on the tie. "See?"

Xavier loosens the tie and lets her hold it. Fleur screeched happily as she wraps the tie around her head. "I'm Kenny."

The adults chuckle at the baby.

Moira says. "She looks so much like Mansi."

"She a little lighter in complexion like her father though." Sean muses. "She has thick hair like him."

"But it's straight like Mansi's." Moira smiled as she stroked the girl's hair. "I'm so happy that they finally had their own child. She's a little miracle isn't she?"

Fleur blinked at the adults as she wrapped and unwrapped the tie around her arm; totally unaware of what was happening.

Xavier murmurs as Fleur was trying to tie the tie back around his neck. "Yes, a miracle." He sadly remembered Leon's son…a dark secret that should stay buried.

Moira hears a knock on the door and wondered if one of the children were trying to sneak into the building. She puts her cup on the table and noticed Charles blinked in surprise and then his grey eyes gleamed in excitement. Moira hurries to the door and checks the peep hole. She gasped and quickly opened the door.

* * *

Kendra pulls her cousin along as they run into the garden. She kneels down and climbs under the rose bushes with Allie. She whispers to her softly. "Kurt won't be able to find us here—turn off your light." Kendra lights up a speck of silver light.

Allie giggles. "We're so gonna win."

Trinity catches up and kneels down at the rose bush. "Hey Allie—Ken."

Allie gasped. "How did you find us—oh right, telepathy."

Trinity nods in excitement. "It's amazing—everyone is like a sparkler out here with their auras."

Sammy and Betsy catch up with Trinity. Kendra whispers. "Quick Sammy—hide in the fountain—Forge didn't say anything about fountains."

Sammy grinned as he leapt into the fountain and remained under the water—not needing to take a breath of air or use a flashlight because of his gills and natural night vision.

Betsy placed a hand on Trinity's shoulder. "Let's find a place to hide."

Trinity follows her as they climb into a cherry blossom tree in the garden. Betsy helps Trinity climb up and they sat beside each other quietly on the branch.

Betsy telepathically communicates. _Having fun?_

Trinity smiles. _Yeah._

_I heard you had quite the workout today—good job with not quitting. Logan and Shiro are tough trainers. I should know—they were my main trainers._

_Did you have telepathic training too?_

_Only a few courses with the professor, I was trained before…_ Betsy trails off. _ Shh, I sense Kurt is near._

Trinity could feel he was near. She stays still and tried not to snicker as his aura ported closer to them. Trinity shifted so she could leap out of the tree—holding fast to her flashlight.

Betsy held still. There was a burst of smoke next to Betsy as Kurt ported next to her and grabbed her. "Boo! You're it Betsy—"

Trinity leapt down from the branch before Kurt could catch her and ran. She pushed herself when she felt Kurt following her. He teleports in front of her and she stumbles into him. They fall into the grass together in a heap.

Trinity let out a shaky laugh as she tried to collect her breath.

Kurt chuckles beneath her. "See? I win."

Trinity rolls off him and giggled. "This round."

Kurt rolls onto his stomach to face her and grinned. "Is that a challenge fraulien?"

She chortled. "Maybe."

Kurt stands and helps her up. "If you'll excuse me—I have more people to catch." He bows to her and teleports away.

* * *

Dominic and Kenneth follow Amara over to the shed near the woods. She ducks behind the small building as the boys slid beside her and sat down. Amara and Dom turn off their flashlights as they stifled laughs. Kenneth kept his on though. Dom didn't say anything; he knew Kenny was afraid of the dark; also, it would be fun to run away from Kurt when he found them.

Amara whispered. "Kenneth; turn it off and use some sun."

Kenneth pouts as he does this—it was almost funny that the oldest and biggest of their group was acting squimish. Kenneth created a large orb of golden light in his hands that was brighter than the flashlight was. Amara raised her gold eyebrows as Dom shrugged in indifference. Kenneth simply smiled as the sunlight warmed him and chased away the unsettling darkness. They sat against the shed's wall as Amara whispered to them about how she played freeze tag and hid under the log pile and accidently set it on fire when she sneezed. The boys sniggered, and they suddenly hear a board creak. Dominic squeaked. "Kurt!" And he jumped ten feet into the air with his powers.

Kenneth laughed as he covered his mouth as Amara hissed. "Dom! Now he'll know we're here!"

Dom fell to the ground with a thump. "What? If I fly into the air then he can't catch me."

"Oh really?" A German voice inquired. The kids look up and shriek when they see Kurt looking down at them from the roof.

Dominic leapt back and rocketed through the air. Kurt flipped off the roof as Amara and Kenneth bolted. Kenneth ran with his little light and left Amara behind who shouted. "Traitor!"

Kenneth sighed as he turned around while turning on his flashlight and letting his orb disappear. He picks up little Amara and runs as Kurt chased them. The kids laugh as Amara tried not to fall off Kenny's back. Kenneth was fast—years of different sports and training with his uncle finally coming in handy. Kurt teleported in front of them, but Kenneth managed to dodge him and continued to run. He knew sooner or later Kurt was going to catch them—and he was right. Kurt finally managed to catch the kids. Kenneth lets Amara off his back as he brought out his sun orb. He noticed Kurt had his flashlight, but it wasn't even on. "Did ya' run out of batteries Kurt?"

Nightcrawler panted. "Nein, I can see better in the dark than most people—also, a flashlight would give me away—I just carry it just in case."

Amara sits down in the grass. "Did Dom give us away?"

Kurt shook his head. "Kenneth's light did. Don't worry though; I'll be sure to catch Dominic as soon as I find him." With smirk, Kurt vanishes in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Dominic falls back to the ground and runs with his flashlight as fast as he could. He sees a light of a lone flashlight and calls. "Run! Kurt is on my tail." When he runs closer, he sees it was Lorna's flashlight, and Lorna was too busy sucking lips with Bobby to notice Dom. He teased as he ran passed. "Get a room—"

Bobby flicks Dominic off as he continued to make out with his girlfriend.

Dominic chortled, and then he heard a "Bamf" and Kurt exclaiming. "Ach—get a room."

Lorna scoffs as Bobby laughed—apparently they were just tagged. Dominic sonic blasted himself back into the air and sees someone was on the roof of the school. He runs up to the building and begged. "Help me out!"

Sofia leans over the roof and shook her head while shushing. "Shoo—or you'll give me away."

Dominic hears another "bamf" behind him and jumps up with a "boom" while saying. "Sofia's on the roof!"

Sofia flies off the roof and passed Dominic, while telling him. "I'll so have my revenge the next round!"

Dominic grabbed onto a window sill and held on as he hears Kurt teleport. He looks over to his right and sees Kurt's glowing gold eyes watching him. Kurt was crouched on the next window sill. "Hallo."

Dominic sheepishly sniggered as he let go and fell down to keep Kurt from reaching him. Dom tumbled to the ground and ran off again, but was soon caught as the Nightcrawler teleported and landed on his shoulders. Dominic snorts. "Dang…I actually thought I was going to win."

Kurt rolled his eyes—or at least Dominic thought he did. "Maybe next time Dom."

* * *

Sofia flew over to the basketball court and sees Hernando was stuck to the back of the backboard. She flew up to him and asked. "Where's Rahne?"

"She's running around—she thinks if she keeps changing positions then it would be harder for Kurt to find her."

Sofia points her flashlight at the ground and says. "Huh, that's actually a good idea. Maybe I should—eek!" Kurt suddenly teleported and grabbed her from behind. "Gotcha!"

Sofia floats the ground and watched as Hernando was climbing over the backboard to try to escape. Kurt tags him though.

Hernando jumps down from the basketball hoop and falls to the ground while putting a hand to his forehead. "Alas Sofia my love! I have been tagged because you had led our enemy to us!"

Sofia smirked as she rolled her eyes. "Oh what can I do to make it up to you Hernando?"

He wags his eyebrows. "I can think of a few things."

Sofia scoffed. "You wish."

Kurt snickered. "Ah Hernando, you lack the subtlety you so need."

Hernando sits up. "I dare you to do better."

Kurt smirked as he takes Sofia's hand. "Liebchen, I apologize for mein freund's crudeness." He kisses her hand.

Sofia blushed a bright red, and giggled. "Now that is how a real man should act." She flips her hair at Hernando.

He jumps to his feet and takes her other hand. "Sofia Mantega—you are the stars of my sky—the peanut butter to my jelly—my fall back girl when Rahne runs too fast for me to follow!"

Sofia laughs with her friend. "Ok, I'll let that slide because I accidently made you lose—besides, I can't hit you in front of Senor Wagner."

Kurt chuckled. "Don't worry—I'm leaving now."

* * *

Kendra felt her heart thumping wildly as she and Allie whispered stories to each other and squealed whenever they thought they heard Kurt—they already saw Kurt tag Betsy and Trinity, but he didn't find them or Sammy yet. Soon they hear Kurt. Kendra extinguished her light and held Allie's hand. They see Kurt's strange feet creep toward them. Allie bit her lip as she tried not to laugh.

Sammy couldn't hear or see anything outside of the fountain and grew bored. He finally pokes his head out of the water, only to see Kurt creeping toward the rose bush. Sammy then slowly lowers himself back into the fountain.

Allie squirmed closer to Kendra as she grinned. Kurt creeps closer and quickly looked under the rose bush. Allie screamed as she was pulled out by Kurt. Kendra giggled as she tried to run away. Kurt chased her for a bit, until he managed to teleport in front of her and tapped her nose playfully. "Great hiding place Ken." He tells her.

Kendra smiled bashfully. "Not good enough apparently; you still caught us."

Allie skips up. "I let you catch me."

Kurt and Kendra look at her then burst out laughing. Allie scrunched her nose. "What? I could've totally outrun you Kurt."

* * *

Trinity sighed—surprised she lost that quickly, but she was still happy and excited. She suddenly sensed John and sees his aura was close. She walks over and sees he was leaning against the shed on the outskirts of the forest and smoking a cigarette. She smelt the burning sweet smell of cloves as she approached him. "Did you get tagged too?"

John smirked. "Naw, no one can catch up with me."

Trinity leans against the shed next to him and asked. "Are you allowed to smoke that?"

John looks at the cigarette and throws it down and stomps it out. "No—but I would like something sweeter." He leans over, grabbing Trinity's ringlets to tilt her face toward his and kissed her. Trinity's eyes were wide with shock as his warm lips were pressed against hers. Her eye lids lowered as she wrapped her arms around his neck to get more leverage. He smirked as she kissed back and continued the kiss—knowing that he did something no one could do—he caught her.

* * *

Betsy grimaced when she saw John making out with Trinity. At first she was totally shocked that John would actually be attracted to the timid girl…but then she was disgusted that she had to witness this. That's what she got for volunteering first as Trinity's watchdog for the night. She wondered how anyone else would react to this moment…Logan would probably be indifferent…but who knows…Betsy actually sensed that Logan was overprotective of Trinity. Also, they were so similar—both had emotional troubles due to their mutations. Ororo would probably be indecisive on what she should do. Sean would shake his head, and Jean would probably separate them. Betsy chuckled to herself; despite the fact Jean and her were telepaths they were complete opposites. Jean was serious and maternal; Betsy was playful and could never be motherly to anyone. Jean was strict and a perfectionist with her powers—Betsy wasn't. She suddenly gets a telepathic message from the professor. _Betsy, could you please send the Lafayette's and Leonardo's in?_

_Sure thing sir. _Betsy thought. She walks over to Trinity as John walks away from her. Trinity had a dreamy look on her young face. _ Poor sod._ Betsy thought. "Trinity, the Prof. wants you inside."

Trinity tilts her head. "Why?"

"You're in trouble for snogging." Betsy joked, but when she saw Trinity's horrified expression she said. "No—joking—I don't know, but he wants to see you and your family."

Trinity, Dom, Allie, and the twins walk into the Institute. Allie whines. "I hope this is quick; Forge is making smores!"

Dominic thinks aloud. "This place reminds me of camp—"

Kenneth argues. "But you've never been to camp."

"Well if I had—I would assume it would be similar to this place." Dominic muttered.

Trinity froze when she saw their auras and burst into the Institute.

"Trinity?" Kendra called as her cousin ran.

Trinity raced into the family room to see her mother and baby sister talking with the Professor, Sean and Moira, and her uncle and aunt. Meg turns to her daughter and opens her arms. "Mija."

Trinity hugs her mother tightly. "Mami—I can't believe you're here—I thought you'd be coming tomorrow."

Meg smiled as she tells her. "I decided to make an early visit." Her light green eyes peer at her daughter's scarred leg. Trinity steps back; crossing her legs to hide her scratched-up limb.

Dominic and Allie embraced their mother as Cara hugged Trinity's legs—knocking her over. Trinity laughed as she picked up her sister and stood up. Cara was beaming up at her sister, but Trinity noticed the girl's eyes were surrounded by purplish skin from lack of sleep. Trinity felt worried as she glanced at her mother—who was busy listening to Allie's adventures. Trinity glances at the Professor who was gazing at Cara with a grim expression. Trinity held the girl tighter as she took in deep breaths to remain calm. She suddenly noticed Cara was holding a thermos. "What's that Cara?"

Cara's eyebrows shot up as she squirmed out of her sister's arms. She rushed up to Moira and gives her the thermos.

Meg noticed and explained. "She had a dream of you getting sick with a cold, so she convinced me to make you some homemade soup."

Moira takes the thermos and smiled at the girl. "Thank you, I have been feeling a bit peaky."

Cara nods. "Drink it, and it'll make you not-sick."

The adults chuckle, but the professor remained silent as he clasped his hands together.

Cara looked at the doorway, and stands in front of it as the adults talked. A moment later

Shiro walked into the room and stopped in front of the little girl blocking him. Cara stared at him and spouted a string of Japanese words to him, and ended with "Aimi-chan."

Shiro's eyes widened as he looked at the professor who nodded, and he quickly ran out of the room while pulling out his cell.

Meg kneels beside her daughter as everyone else looked on in silence. "Cara…what did you tell Mr. Yoshida?"

Cara looked tired. "I told him his daughter Aimi needed him, and he should call and go home as fast as he can."

Mansi, who had just met Shiro inquired. "He has a family?"

Sean answers. "Yes, he told me how he has a wife and daughter back in Japan."

Leon asks his niece. "She's a mutant isn't she?"

Cara stared at her uncle with her mysterious blue eyes. "She will be."

The room was quiet for a moment, until Fleur cooed to her mother. "Mama! Me hungry."

Mansi picks up her daughter and leaves. "Yep, let's go outside and get some smores." She motions for the twins to follow.

Meg tells her children. "Why don't you go with them, I need to talk to Trinitia."

Trinity watched as her family left, save for Leon and her mother. Trinity sighed as her mother told her. "Sit."

Trinity sat down. Her mother checks the leg and ran her hand over the scratches—green energy covering her injuries. Trinity hissed as she felt the stinging pain—like she was being scratch all over again. Strangely, her mother's healing made it seem like the wound was being dealt again, but it would instantly purify and heal back to healthy flesh. When she was done, Trinity let out a sigh of relief. She sees her mom checking her dark skin; making sure her work was efficient. Trinity wondered if Leon told her about being an X-Man…She bit her lip and said. "Mami, I want to be an X-Man."

She saw her mom freeze, her shoulders stiffening—Trinity could feel her worry and distress.

She finally speaks. "No Trinitia, I will not have any of my children become X-Men."

Trinity listened to the silence in the room as the adults watched. She spoke up. "Why?"

Meg stood. "Because I am your mother and I said so."

Trinity felt herself grow angry. "You owe me—you owe me an explanation for once. I'm tired of you telling me how you'll explain everything eventually—well, I can't always wait for that!"

"Trinitia Marie…" Her mother warned.

Trinity shook her head. "No. Tell me why we can't be X-Men."

Meg looked at her mentor and glowered. "I told you Charles—"

"I made the decision on my own, Mami." Trinity stood up and faced her. "And I intend to do it."

Meg scrutinized her daughter and walked away. "Come with me."

Trinity looked at her uncle who nods for her to go. Trinity finally followed her mother.

Sean watches them. "Where are they going?"

Moira doesn't answer as she watched her old pupil leave with her daughter.

Leon peered at Charles. "She's going to tell her about the others…isn't she?"

The professor nods. "I'm afraid so."

Meg led Trinity to the professor's office. Darwin lifted his head and trots over to Meg and licked her hand. Meg smiled sadly and pets the animal. "Hey Darwin." Her feelings turned sad and thoughtful as she said the canine's name. Darwin quickly leaves the room; as if to let them have some privacy. Meg walked up to a shelf and stared at the photos. Trinity sees a photo of students…including her mother being around her age. Meg smiled widely for the camera and had her arms around a young Ororo and a blonde girl's shoulder. The blonde girl smiled shyly; her green eyes gazing out. Meg explained. "Petra. She was only thirteen when a tree branch was stabbed through her abdomen…I couldn't save her because I was in a coma." She points to a dark young man standing behind the girls with his arms around a Hispanic girl who had fly-like wings. "That same day, Armando died. He sacrificed his life to stop a mutant that had the ability to fuse his body into an island and control everything…its volcano, its vegetation, even the fauna. Angel left the institute after he died…she hated us all for what happened." She walks over to another picture that showed an old man with dark green eyes. "That's Erik…he was like a father to us…he taught us alongside of Charles. I was in a coma because I used so much of my power to heal him." She then gazed at a picture of the professor in wheelchair and a man with the same dark green eyes… "That's Erik…I was healing him as much as I could…his flesh became young again…I didn't just heal wounds, but rejuvenated him. I was unable to heal the professor of his injuries…" Her eyes water dangerously as regret filled her. "Erik…had to go home…only to find his youngest daughter…perished in a fire that was started by an anti-mutant mob. He was always…aggressive about mutant rights…he's a Holocaust survivor and feared the monstrous side of men. He came back; changed. He demanded we go to war…that humans weren't our equals…that they needed to be restrained…and mutants should be Gods of earth. He left…along with a student named Calvin…Calvin was a friend of mine. He just joined the x-men…he had the ability to copy our powers. He used them against us…and Erik…Magneto formed a brotherhood of mutants and attacked an anti-mutant protest group. We were forced to fight against a mentor and a friend that day. The last person dying in the X-Men…was Marisol's husband. Kenneth and Kendra's father." Trinity stared at the photos as she felt her mother's guilt and sadness seep into herself. They kept their tears back as Meg continued. "Being an X-Man means being a hero…being a hero means that you'll have to sacrifice so much for the common good…if you survive…then those sacrifices strip so much from you. It only leaves behind pain and regret…I didn't have caring parents to keep me from joining the X-Men, and I won't make that mistake and put my children in danger."

Trinity looks down at her hands. "You mean you had no one to stop you."

Meg stared at her daughter. "I had no one to protect me from a life of a hero…it has its rewards…but mostly its consequences."

Trinity interrupts. "I want to be an X-Men to help people…it's like you said…we need to sacrifice things for the betterment of mankind. Training…it makes me feel brave…I don't feel scared or alone when I train. Yeah, I feel tired, but at least I'm not scared that someone could get to me or I might hurt someone. I need this."

Meg sighed. "I'll let you train…but you will not go on any missions."

Trinity stared at her. "Even if I could save kids like me?"

Meg gazed at her daughter. "I can't let you throw away your life Trinitia."

"But you're willing to restrain it." She answered calmly. "Mami, please, let me do this."

Her mother holds her face. "No." She then leads her out of the office. "Come on, let's go join everyone."

* * *

Dominic had his baby sister on his lap as he tried to talk to Sammy through mouthful of smores. "Dis is Cara—mi sistr, she dosnent tak mush, but shesh o-k." (Translation: This is Cara—my sister, she doesn't talk much, but she's ok.)

Sammy tilts his head. "Sorry, I don't speak American."

This summoned a laugh from Amara, who held smoldering marshmallow in her fiery hand. She then throws the melted marshmallow into her mouth.

Forge had started a fire in the fire pit on the patio and they were enjoying dessert. Forge transformed his arm into a spear-like tool that he speared marshmallows on. Xi'an sat beside him and nibbled on her smore happily. Kendra was eating a chocolate bar as she stared at the flames and leaned against Kurt's legs. Kurt was busy inhaling his third smore as Betsy sat beside him throwing marshmallows into the air and catching them in her mouth. Kenneth was busy heating up his smore with solar light instead of fire, and ended up burning the marshmallows and graham crackers. Bobby held Lorna on his lap as she whispered some explicit things to him…making Kurt and Betsy grimace and try to scoot as far away as they could from the couple. Sofia was busy nibbling on a graham cracker as Hernando, Allie, and Cara roasted some marshmallows on a stick. Hernando held a branch that had a dozen marshmallows on his, and the girls simply had one marshmallow impaled on their skewers. Mansi was busy showing Fleur how to make a smore, but the toddler kept on eating the marshmallows before she could roast them on the branch. When Allie was done with roasting, she brought her marshmallow out of the fire. The white puff had a flame around it, which she blew out to reveal a browned marshmallow. She then helped Cara with her marshmallow which was blackened. Hernando chuckled and gave Cara his and Amara said. "Ooh! Can I have the burnt one Cara?" The little girl hands her the burnt one and Amara eats it happily. "They're my favorite!"

A dog suddenly barked and raced toward the group. Xi'an calls to the canine. "Rahne! You were still playing?"

The red wolf transformed into her human self. "Kurt didn't find me and I was still hidin'!"

Kurt sheepishly grinned. "Oops, I thought Sammy was the last person to catch…"

"Ya' forgot about me!"

"Smore?" Bobby offered, leaning over his girlfriend.

Rahne rolled her eyes. "Nah," She stuck her tongue at Kurt and sits next to Kendra.

Kurt used his tail to play with Rahne's long hair. "I'm surprised how long your hair is."

Rahne blew the bangs out of her eyes as she swats the tail away. "Stop it; I'm still cross with ya'."

Hernando goes over to sit next to Rahne and puts an arm around her. Rahne sighed and allowed it. Until, Hernando sniffed her hair. She shrieked and jumped up. "Men!"

She goes over and sits next to Allie, who gives her a marshmallow and asks. "Where've been Rahne?"

"Runnin' around the fields and hiding behind anything that could shield me. I actually ran into Trinity and John earlier—" She stopped when she realized she said something she shouldn't have. Betsy turned her head when she heard this; _great job Rahne_. She thought. _Now the drama will begin._

Lorna asked quickly. "You saw Trinity with John!"

Rahne nods.

Hernando tilts his head. "What were they doing?"

"Uh—talkin'." Rahne answered shortly; trying not to look at the Leonardo's or the Lafayette's.

Bobby smiled. "Riiiiight. They were just talking."

Rahne blushed. "They were!"

Lorna grinned. "Come on Rahne, out with it."

"I know nothin'!" Rahne growled.

Sofia became serious. "Did John kiss her?"

Rahne clamps her mouth shut and gave a nod. Betsy rolled her eyes—and so it begins.

Lorna laughs. "Awesome—they'll be so cute together."

Bobby smiled. "I knew John could get her."

Sammy muttered. "Looks like we got ourselves another X-couple." He stopped when he sees Dominic had smashed his smore in his hand and looked like he was going to hit something—or, someone.

Kendra was scrunching her nose in distaste, and Forge tried to change the subject. "Anyone else want seconds?"

Sofia shook her head. "Wait, Rahne, what happened?"

"They were at the shed talkin'—" She started, but Allie covered her ears and exclaimed:

"Ew, I so do not want to hear this!"

"I do." Kenneth spoke up—he needed details and reasons to blast John in the Danger Room.

Amara nods. "Go ahead, or they'll never stop bothering you."

Rahne tells them what happened.

Dominic looked even more pissed as well as disgusted. Mansi looked annoyed. The younger kids looked uncomfortable. Forge and Xi'an were indifferent. Lorna and Bobby were ecstatic, while everyone else weren't as excited. Betsy sees Kurt's brow was furrowed. She sends a thought. _What's wrong?_

_John, I don't like this. The boy goes out every night and smells of cloves and a different brand of women's perfume._

_We don't know that he sees women—_

_When he stuffs his pockets full of condoms and comes home with empty pockets, I beg to differ._

Betsy felt Kurt's concern and resentment in his thoughts. _You're worried he's going to hurt her—Sofia and some of the others have the same sentiment. She'll be fine Kurt—she can handle herself. Maybe John would be more…gentle with her._

_She doesn't need John to toy with her emotions Betsy—that's the last thing Trin needs._

Betsy smiled at him. _It's sweet how much you care about her._

Kurt's tail swished behind him quickly. _She's just girl…she's been through a lot…she doesn't need to be drug through anymore troubles._

She couldn't respond because all of the students were busy talking about Trinity and John; she noticed the Leonardo's and Lafayette's were silent though. Betsy sighed; Trinity had enough drama going on around her—she didn't need the entire class knowing about her private life, so she spoke up. "Alright, that's enough. 1. This isn't any of your business. 2. If you're so interested; ask Trinity about it yourselves. 3. Shut it."

The children were shocked at Betsy's curt order, and did indeed 'shut it'.

Kurt smirked. "It's sweet how much you care as well, liebchen."

Betsy snorts as she roasted another marshmallow.

* * *

Meg walks outside and smiled at her kids. She picks up Allie and sits her on her lap. The girl squirmed uncomfortably, but finally lets her mother hold her like when she was little. Dom smiled at his mom and hands her the marshmallow bag. Cara was staring into the fire

Trinity stood back as she gazed at the fire; a terrifying and mystifying thing. She finally takes a few steps forward. Her mom turned and motioned to her to join them. Trinity peered at the fire nervously, and took a deep breath. She raced forward and sat beside Kenneth. She finally exhaled as she stared at the fire. She gazed at it as she continued to breathe slowly…like Jean taught her. Her racing heart slowed down as she felt the fire's warmth…she almost forgot what a calm campfire felt like, but she still kept her distance. Kenneth puts an arm around her and gives her some chocolate and a smile. She grinned as she ate some of the chocolate.

Bobby had to break the sweet moment. "Hey Trinity, is it true that you sucked lips with John?"

Trinity stiffened uncomfortably as Sofia, Rahne, and Betsy screamed at him. "BOBBY!"

* * *

Meg sits at the table with Charles, Ororo, Leon, Sean, Forge, and Xi'an. The kids had went to bed. Cara was sleeping in Trinity's room with her, and Allie and Kendra were sleeping over. Dominic tried to stay up with his mother, but Mansi pushed him off to bed to get some rest.

Meg was eating the leftovers from dinner, and grinned as she tasted the delicious spices. "Mansi was always a great cook."

Xi'an nods. "She and I made crepes this morning—the children loved them."

Meg smiled at Xi'an bubbly personality; she really did miss her old best friend. She turns to the Professor. "So Charles…how are they doing?"

The professor clasped his hands together. "Trinity is doing better; her therapy sessions had greatly helped. She is making amazing progress with overcoming her pyrophobia. Jean also told me how she has been doing a great job mastering her emotional state under pressure." He looks at Leon. "That reminds me, how did her training go?"

Leon answers. "Well, I talked to the other trainers and found out that she isn't at her physical peak, but she is determined. Some students I trained would take breaks or quit a exercise. Trinity didn't quit once. I found that potential impressive. She needs to have constant practice if she wants to become a X-Man…"

Meg glared at her older brother. "She won't."

Leon shrugged. "She'll be eighteen a year and a half from now, right?"

Meg's green eyes narrowed, but Xi'an interrupts. "Trinity has made some new friends here, yes?"

Ororo answers. "Yes, she has grown quite close to Sofia and Hernando. As well as Kurt."

Leon smirked. "I saw that one coming from a mile away."

Sean grinned. "Betsy has taken a liking to her too. That surprised me." He tells Leon. "By the way, you need to train with her; Betsy would be a perfect partner for you in any mission."

Leon snorts. "How do you know?"

Sean rolled his eyes. "Well, she's a lot like you."

"Well, there goes the team." Forge chuckled.

"How're Dom and Allie doing?" Meg inquired.

Forge answers. "Dominic is an awesome student! Kid helped me out the other day with the laser canons—and his powers are incredible! Dom is doing great with his mutant abilities."

Xi'an giggled. "As you can see, Forge has a new favorite."

Sean winks at Storm. "So does someone else."

Ororo smiled. "Allie is a sweet and energetic girl. She can control her power really well, and is always eager to learn. She has been playing with the children and pets here, and has been spending most of her time with Rahne. As well as following a certain Canadian around the grounds."

Meg raised her brows. "Allie has been following Logan around?"

Sean chortled. "Correction, Allie has been spending every second she could get with him. Logan has tried all his tricks to deter the girl, but she is relentless."

Leon laughs with him. "I can't wait to see that."

Forge grinned. "I have a picture of Allie wearing his cowboy hat from the security cameras. And Logan's reaction is priceless."

Ororo speaks up. "I think it's endearing how the little one dotes on Logan."

Xi'an agrees. "Maybe Allie could soften him up?"

"Knowing Logan-san, it is not likely." Shiro's voice answered.

Everyone was surprised to see Shiro had his suitcases packed and his traveling suit on.

"Shiro! Where are you going?" Sean asked him.

"Home." Shiro tells him. "I am afraid that I must leave you all. I do not plan on returning."

"What?" Forge exclaimed as Xi'an asked:

"Why?"

Ororo stood up to comfort Shiro. "Did something happen to your family?"

Shiro shrugs away from Storm. "The Professor can tell you why, but I must be off." He stops before Charles and gives him a nod. "Domo arigato…it's been an honor Xavier." He rushed out of the room.

Everyone watched him in shock. Leon asks the Professor. "What happened?"

Xavier explains. "Cara's visions have foretold that Aimi, Shiro's only daughter, has just gained her powers. He has just found out that her powers are just like his…she has accidently burned herself."

Xi'an gasped as the room became grimly silent. "Is she alright?"

Xavier nods. "She is fine. However, Shiro does not wish for her to attend the Institute just yet." He peers at Meg. "Cara's precognitive capabilities have grown stronger than I suspected. I notice that she hasn't been getting enough sleep. It's because of her visions, isn't it?"

She looks at the table. "Yes…her nightmares…the visions…make it difficult for her to sleep. She's too afraid to go to sleep at night."

Charles listens. "I know you won't like hearing this, but I think it's time for Cara to join the Institute."

She frowned and looked down at her hands. "Maybe…maybe you're right Charles…but I need more time."

Leon watched his younger sister carefully, and changed the subject. "So Charles, who are you taking with you to advise the Guthrie's son?"

"Pardon?" Ororo asked.

Xi'an explains. "The Professor and I are going to Kentucky, where there is a mutant boy named Sam. He comes from a big family, and his mother doesn't really want to send him away from home, so we're going over to tell them how Xavier's Institute is really great and helpful. Professor Xavier thought it would be good to take a couple students with us to show the Gutheries how much the Institute does aid mutant children with their powers. We're thinking about bringing Bobby maybe, but we're still trying to decide who else we should bring."

Leon smirked knowingly. "What about Trinity?"

Charles's grey eyes peered at his old student. "Why, that is a wonderful idea."

Meg sat up straight in surprise. "What? No, absolutely not!" She shoots her brother a glare. "No missions—"

"This isn't a mission Meg, it's an admission process." Leon tells her. "There won't be any fighting, costume-wearing, or power usage."

"Sounds boring." Forge muttered to Xi'an. "I'm gonna miss you babe."

Xi'an shook her head and whispered. "It'll only be a few hours; don't call me babe!"

Meg looks at Charles. "Well…she's not ready to be around people yet—she's still learning how to control her powers. And I doubt you can keep a mental hold over her the entire time."

Professor Xavier started laughing softly and everyone, except Leon stared at him in confusion. He then explains. "Meg, I haven't had any mental control over Trinity since you left the Institute. Jean and I have kept an eye on her, but we didn't need to place any mental grasps or shields around Trinity. Except for the Creed incident, Trinity has been in full control of herself. She has improved greatly."

Everyone stared at the professor in astonishment, except for Leon who was smirking smugly. Storm asked. "So you and Jean did not need to place any psychic barriers to restrain Trinity's powers?"

Charles shook his head. "Trinity was able to do that herself."

Meg looked shocked as she said. "Trinitia…she's done that well?"

Leon nods. "Of course she has; she gets it from you Margarette."

Meg narrowed her eyes at being called her full name; as well as her brother's constant arguments on her decisions. "Leon. Trinity is my daughter—"

"And my niece—now we've established obvious relations." Leon stood up and told her. "Trinity was older than you were when you came here. She's been through more than we've ever experienced as students. She's tougher than you think. And all she wants to do is become stronger and help others. Going on this trip will help her, as well as that boy in Kentucky. She's ready for this Meg; even if you're not."

Meg closed her eyes and sighed. "Charles," Xavier watched her closely. "Is she ready for this?"

Professor Xavier answered. "Yes Meg, Trinity is ready. I honestly believe she is one of the best examples of what Xavier's Institute has to offer."

She stands and walks around nervously thinking.

Xi'an gets up and holds her friend's arm in comfort. "I promise we'll look after—besides, it's probably for the best. It'll help her Meg—I really believe it will."

Meg turns to her friend and then the table to ask. "What about Sabretooth Charles?"

Forge explains. "He would follow her by her scent—this trip will throw him off."

Storm adds. "We will be on high alert to make sure Sabretooth won't get to any of the children."

Meg crumples back into her chair and held her head. "Why…?" She shook her head and said in stronger tone. "Very well; you have my permission…Trinity can go." She looks up at Xavier. "Please…keep her safe this time Charles." Her green eyes water. "Please."

Charles placed a hand over her's. "Of course Meg."

* * *

John was on the road, he had walked far enough that he knew he was off the security grid. He then opens his phone and makes the call. He hears it ring three times before someone picks it up.

"Pyro." A deep voice speaks; he knew it was Mystique despite the fact she was disguising her voice.

"Yeah it's me. I was just wondering why the hell our target is still kicking?" John lights another cigarette and smokes it. "I delivered the target—I've been spying on the damn target—and yet, no one else seems to be doing their jobs but me."

"Watch your tone."

"Look, I'm tired of sitting around here and playing student."

"Magneto still needs you to scout out the Institute—find out about the security—"

"Don't worry about that—they have me helping the mechanic here as punishment for my nights out. Forge does nothing but tune the security of this place." John blows a large plume of smoke. "If you need me to take out the girl, I can."

"No, we need you to keep your cover, besides, if she really does train with the professor, you could use her to get information about him. We have more important things to do; exterminating Trinity can wait. We're planning on sending another scout to help you. Word to the wise Pyro—don't blow your cover."

John chuckled. "I've been good so far."

"Blowing up that bookstore almost blew your cover as well—I don't need any insubordinates on my team. Is that clear?"

Pyro snorts out smoke. "Crystal. Speaking of our oh-so-special guest, how is she?"

Mystique doesn't answer at first. "You know I can't talk about that, but she is still playing for our team luckily."

"Well, if you had Mastermind rewrite your memory and have a child with Pietro…you tend to be loyal to the first hand that helps you…am I right? Just look out when the 'Inhumans' find out we've been keeping their long-lost relative as an Acolyte."

Mystique growled. "Shut up, what if you're overheard?"

"I'm alone, don't worry about anything; I have this covered." He hangs up his cell as he walks back to the Institute.

When he makes it to the garage, he almost runs into something with a large glowing red eye. John jumped back and made the embers in his cigarettes flare into flames to see who he ran into. The fire showed it was Scott with his visor on; standing before him stoically.

Pyro sighed. "You tryin' to give me a heart attack?"

Scott answers sternly. "If you weren't sneaking back in…there would be no reason for surprise."

John rolled his eyes. "Right, I honestly could care less about curfew or 'campus' lines that I can't cross." He smirked at Scott's frown. "Oops, did I forget to add 'sir'?"

Scott doesn't respond and finally says. "I want to talk to you about Trinitia."

John raised his eyebrows. "Talk away."

"If you're going to…"

"Snog? Screw with her?" John inquired, and laughed at Scott's stormy expression.

"I want to make this clear. I know about your escapades with women, John."

"Jealous?"

He ignores the comment. "I want you to know that you cannot toy with Trinitia's emotions. If you care about her you will not be messing around with her—especially when she has a hard enough time controlling her emotions."

John blew smoke into his face. "Funny, why doesn't the professor tell me this? Is it because, I don't need to back off from her?"

A flash of red light raced behind the ruby quartz lens of the visor. "I am simply warning you Allerdyce—"

"What? You honestly don't have any right to stick your nose into my business. And Trinity didn't seem to mind when I 'toyed' with her tonight."

Scott clenched his jaw. "Yeah, I heard. I am warning you, that if you hurt her, she has an entire family that would be after you without hesitation. As well as others who have grown very protective of her."

"Well that's nice, she's only been her for a little while, and she has made fast friends…especially with Night-creeper. Did he send you out here to give me the 'talk', 'sir'?"

Scott glared at the boy for a moment. "It's not my business what you two do. But it is my business to protect Trinity from any kind of harm, and to fight it with any means necessary."

John snorts. "Alright, here's the problem with you trying to intimidate me; I'm not scared of you." John flicks his cigarette down and stamps it out.

Scott snorts a laugh as he turned to walk back inside. "You're very lucky that I was here to talk to you."

"Why, so you can give me detention?"

"No, because Wolverine wanted to have this discussion with you, as well as three of his closest friends. You better get ready for bed John, before he comes back from his bike ride." He opens the door, lighting up the dark garage for a moment, before shutting it.

* * *

Kendra and Allie were sleeping over in Trinity's room, and Cara was going to sleep over as well. The four-year old was already wearing an oversized t-shirt of Trinity's as a night shirt, and hugging the Bamf doll. Allie was busy putting in a movie into the laptop to watch, as Kendra was laying in the spare bead and reading _The Complete Tales of Edgar Allen Poe_ with a tranquil smile. Trinity sat behind her sister on the bed and was braiding her hair carefully, like she would always do. Cara's hair was straighter than Allie's—more wave-like—and easier to braid and control.

Allie whoops as the movie started to play; _Beauty and the Beast._

Cara grinned as she saw her favorite movie was playing. She watched with heavy lidded eyes. Trinity lay down next to her and watched the movie, but noticed Cara would sometimes nod off to sleep. The movie suddenly stopped when Kendra paused it. Their cousin looks at Cara. "Are you well Cara?"

The little girl blinked deliriously. "Jus' sleepy."

Allie sits up on the spare bed. "We'll watch the rest of the movie tomorrow—how 'bout you go to sleep?"

Cara shook her head. "No!"

Allie sighed. "You're not gonna throw a fit, are you?"

Cara's lip trembled. "No!"

Trinity scolds Allie. "Just leave it be Alicia." She turns to Cara. "How about we all go to sleep?"

Cara looked like she about to cry as a spasm of fear went through her. "No! I want to stay awake."

Trinity watched her sister nervously. "But aren't you tired?"

Cara shook her head and her blue eyes pleaded. "No—please let me stay up with you!"

Trinity felt her sister's anxiety and told. "Okay, we can stay up." She puts her arms around her baby sister as the movie restarts.

Cara fell asleep after ten minutes, and Trinity tucked her in as Allie and Kendra got into bed. Allie fell asleep as Kendra continued to read. Kendra then asked Trinity. "Are you well?"

Trinity smiled as she lay down on her bed next to Cara. "Yeah; I'm feeling much better."

Kendra smiled back. "Good; I'm glad." Her lavender eyes then wandered to the window. "Mama would be so happy that you're here."

Trinity felt her cousin's sadness mix with her own. "How're you doing?" She asked in concern.

Kendra blinked and finally looked at her. "It's hard sometimes…after three years…sometimes I wake and think she'll be in the kitchen making breakfast…I miss both of them a lot…but it's better now when I'm here."

"How's that?" Trinity felt like she missed Marisol more being at the Institute.

Kendra lay back against the pillow. "I'm not sure…I feel like…being here…is being closer to her and my dad…a sense of nostalgia almost…it's like I can go back in time to when they were alive…" She lifts her head. "What about you?"

Trinity turns and shuts off the light. "I don't know yet…I like it…especially the people…but…I don't know."

Kendra sighed. "Yes, I understand. It's not home yet."

Trinity nods. "It's not home."

* * *

**Author's Note: "Yawn...I'm tired. These chappies are long."**

**Brother yawns as well. "You wrote it."**

**"True. I shall call it ode to flashlight tag."**

**"No you won't."**

**"Yeah you're right; thoughts?"**

**"I hate John. I hate 'im."**

**"Aw, be nice, there are plenty of Pyro fans out there. BTW, I wanted Kurt to be the one to talk to John, but brother was a genius and thought Scott would be a better fit."**

**"I thought Scott should surprise you guys again. I want to bring Scott back to the awesome leader...I miss the 70's."**

**"Oh please, you haven't even witnessed the 90's-like me."**

**"Right; 70's-80's are your fav.s. I've been partial to 90's-2000's."**

**"John is a part of the Brotherhood...big surprise that we're using continuity. And yes, I did make an allusion to Crystal. Don't worry I'll expand on the Brotherhood soon-ish."**

**"We don't own Marvel."**

**"Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please-"**

**"God-Please review and make it stop!"**

**"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please..." :)**


	17. Chapter 16: Brotherhood Secrets

Mystique ended her call with John and looked over at her bed. Irene was peacefully taking her nap. She walks over to her and moved some of her blonde hair from her face before silently leaving. She walks down to Crystal's room and sees the red-headed, with a strange black design on her red locks, mutant brushing her daughter's hair.

Crystal was found among a shattered space shuttle—right in their backyard actually. They found that she was gifted with great power over the elements (fire, water, earth, and air) and took her in. The fact that she couldn't remember where she came from was a plus. Also, Quicksilver and her falling for each other helped, and with Magneto's urging, they had a child. Mystique snorts an amused laugh. _A super-mutant—born from a mutant and a lost girl from a mutated alien race called the Inhumans. _Only Exodus, Mastermind, Pyro, Magneto, and she knew of this. Exodus was the leader of Magneto's Acolytes, and she was the leader of the Brotherhood—in other words, Crystal's origins were need-to-know. Crystal was for the cause to help her new 'family' and protect them from the menacing humans…also, Magneto thought it would be best to 'shield' Crystal from her past memories with the help of Mastermind's illusions and Exodus's telepathic abilities, since he believed Crystal was flying away from her planet and was seeking refuge on earth. Magneto was always great at playing God.

Mystique changes into a straggly cat and walks into the room—it wasn't uncommon for stray cats to wander into the base. Luna, Crystal and Quicksilver's daughter, cooed. "Hi kitty-cat!"

Mystique sniffed, but then meowed. _This is supposed to be an infamous mutant warrior? Ana and Edith were never so naïve or stupidly trusting at five years. _

Crystal smiled as she continued to brush Luna's strawberry blonde hair. "Hold still darling." She summons another gust of wind to move the girl's hair from her face.

Mystique sat on a discarded pillow and licked her paw like an innocent little cat as the girl watched her in excitement.

* * *

Magneto was on his cell and asked his illusionist: Mastermind. "So all the preparations are finished?"

"Yes." Mastermind's voice answered. "Exodus and the others have fixed up the new base—it's in perfect condition thanks to the Cortez's generous donations."

Magneto smiled grimly. "And how are Maria and Fabian?"

Mastermind sniffs. "Fabian is acting like he's head of the Acolytes, but Exodus is keeping him in line…for now."

"Don't worry yourself Mastermind, I will be there soon with the Scarlett Witch, Crystal, and my granddaughter."

"You're bringing the girl? Why is that Magneto?"

Magneto says. "That is my business, but I would like to have Crystal to be watched by better eyes than the Brotherhood…also, I wish to keep my granddaughter safe and out of this disgraceful hell-hole."

Mastermind chuckles. "Ah, I see. When will you be leaving?"

"Tonight. We should be there by tomorrow. How is our newest recruit?"

"The Multiple-Man? He's been a huge help around here—his powers are amazing—I think we should lend some of his doppelgangers to help the Brotherhood—"

"No," Magneto answered. "We shouldn't waste our resources. If Mystique can prove her team is capable of handling itself…that remains to be seen." He stops the call and leaves his study to tell his children of the news.

* * *

Magneto suddenly walked in with an angry-looking Quicksilver racing before him. Pietro stood before Crystal and Luna and snapped quickly. "There is no way in hell you're taking them to the Acolyte base!"

Mystique's tail flicked in surprise. _Magneto is returning to the Acolyte base so soon? And he's leaving Quicksilver here?_

Magneto glared down at his son like he was a pest. "You have no right to question or refuse my orders Pietro. I am taking Crystal and Luna with me to protect them—"

"Without me! And-I-don't-even-know-where-you're-taking-them!" He spoke so quickly his words were mashed together without a pause.

"Enough." Magneto's voice boomed over Quicksilver's rambling. Crystal holds Luna close as Pietro stops talking all together. "Every decision I make is for our fight for mutant kind!" He glowers at his son in disgust. "Your selfishness is a disgrace to the Brotherhood—you are obviously not ready to be an Acolyte like your sister. Your weaknesses would collapse this establishment as well as the cause."

Pietro was breathing quickly and he raced out of the room without a word. Crystal watches him and says. "Please Magneto—he is only worried about us! He is for the cause—he is!" She looks up at Magneto with sad blue eyes.

Magneto smiles at her and picks up his granddaughter. "I know Crystal, but we must not forget the importance of the cause." He turns his attention to Luna. "And how is my favorite girl?"

Luna smiled as her blue eyes sparkled. "Mommy braided my hair Grandfather" She holds up a braid. "Pretty—right?"

Magneto smiled. "Very." He leaves the room with the child. "Crystal, you should start packing everything—we'll be leaving by tonight." He tells Luna. "Let's practice your lessons—"

"I can float now—" was the last thing Mystique heard the girl said.

She trots out and goes to the Scarlet Witch's room. She crept through the crack in the door unnoticed and sees Pietro was pacing at high speeds before his sister Wanda. Wanda watched him as she pulls her auburn curls back from her face. They were what Mystique would call "Vaitcan twins". Wanda was born only a few months after Pietro—they had the same eye-color of dark green, like their father, but other than that they didn't look alike. Wanda tells her brother. "Pietro, do not worry—father will take good care of Crystal and Luna—as will I."

Pietro growls. "I hate this—I hate it when he calls me weak! I'm his damn son and he ranks me below mutants like-like Rogue!"

Mystique growls as she resisted the urge to swipe at the ingrate's legs; Rogue was 10x's more powerful than that speedster.

Quicksilver was a blur now as he wore out the carpet. "Now I'm stuck here—not knowing where you're going—and fighting the useless fight against the X-Men!"

Wanda sighed. "I know—I don't even know where we are going—I still don't understand why we need to fight the X-Men."

Mystique agreed; if she had her way she would kill every last X-Man—have her revenge against those bastards—She shook her head to focus on the discussion; there will be plenty of time for revenge.

Pietro stops and peered at his sister. "I thought you said you were over the Nightcrawler?"

Wanda blushed as Mystique blanched.

Wanda answers. "I am—but—the X-Men are fighting to save mutants too—"

"And side with human scum." Pietro sneered as he began pacing again.

Wanda lay down on her bed. "Kurt was so kind to me…so sweet…"

Pietro interrupts. "Wanda, I'm worried about you leaving—this will be the first time we'd be apart."

Wanda sits back up. "Do not worry Pietro—father will protect us. He always has."

Pietro stopped once more and balled up his fists. "Apparently you forgot what happened sixteen years ago."

"The mob…" Wanda stared at her hands. "Anya…she was two when they burned her alive in our house…"

Pietro leans against the moldy wall as he adds. "We were Luna's age…when our father disowned me…"

Wanda stood and faced her brother. "Pietro—he was devastated—we all were—"

Pietro glares. "He blamed me—acted like I left Anya to burn—"

"It's not your fault, you wouldn't have been able to save her—you saved me though…"

Pietro gets away from the wall. "That wasn't enough though—nothing is ever enough for him. Why do think he left us?"

She shook her head. "He found us again and saved us from that mob…" She brings a hand to her stomach when she remembered that terrible day.

"After ten years!"

Wanda puts a hand on his shoulder. "He saved us Pietro…he took care of us…"

Mystique leaves before she could hear anymore nonsense.

* * *

Quill sat in his favorite chair and watched the old T.V. absently as he ran a hand through his dark brown quills on his head. He also had quills on his chest, hands, and his jawline. He peered at Pastmaster, "Jax", who was lying on the stained couch and drinking a beer bottle. Jax was straggly and useless to Quill. He didn't fight and was only used as a scout or researcher for the Brotherhood. Magneto found him in an asylum. Jax's dark skin had paled over the years of being dormant and his dreadlocks were frizzed. He was a pathetic 14-year-old alcoholic, and Quill was annoyed that people had the gall to his own mutant gift useless in comparison to someone who can simply read the past of objects. He lets Jax know his thoughts. "You're pathetic Pastmaster—all you do is drink and mope like a emo."

Pastmaster glares at Quill with bagged-brown eyes. "I have to drink to keep out the memories…"

Quill peered at Kid Omega before saying. "Right, you're just like Rogue—every object you touch you absorb its entire history. The difference is—Rogue isn't a bitch like you."

Kid Omega was looking through his IPhone without a care about the conversation that was happening before him.

Jax's fist tightens around the beer as he tried to ignore him. "It's called psychoscopy…" He muttered in frustration.

Quill snorts. "You lay around and stink up the place—you're shit Jax."

Jax lets his hand brush the side of the couch slowly as his brown eyes became far-away. He tells Quill. "Well, at least I can keep it in my pants…You and Phantazma had worn out this couch alright, 'Max'."

Max's/Quill's dark face turned red, as Pastmaster said this, and Kid Omega snorts a laugh.

Max's quills bristled and turned into a dark purple (a sign poison is filling them—it's a defensive reaction) as he snaps at Kid Omega. "Shut up, I'm not the one who passes out and gets nosebleeds whenever I 'think' too hard."

Kid Omega sneered and placed a hand on his temple. Quill stood up straight with a zombie-like look and walked out of the room.

Pastmaster glances at Kid Omega nervously. "What—what did you do?"

Kid Omega was smirking. "Nothing, just sent him to give Avalanche a present."

The base suddenly shook as Avalanche yelled. "What the F***!"

Quill runs back into the room and glared down at Kid Omega—his quills were now a brilliant purple and pulsed in rage. "You…Bastard."

Kid Omega laughed. "What? All I did was let you have what you subconsciously wanted…or what you subconsciously feared…I'm not sure."

Quill growled. "You made me kiss him, you asshole! That's it; I'm going to kill you—"

"What's goin' on in here?" Rogue's voice twanged.

Pastmaster turned to see Rogue was in the doorway scrutinizing the scene. Kid Omega got up and walked passed Quill and then Rogue. "Nothing, Max just got his quills in a bunch."

Quill growled as he followed Kid Omega. Rogue peered at Pastmaster. "Everything ok Jax?"

Jax nods. "Just tired." He drinks some more.

Rogue watches him with worry; Jax and her were so similar…the inability to really live because of their powers. "How many beers did ya' have today?"

Pastmaster sighed. "I don't know…"

Rogue bit her lip. "Jax…"

He rolls over to have his back to her. "It's ok, don't you have practice?"

Rogue watched him for a moment and finally left.

Rogue walked down the rickety stair and into the basement/training room. She sees Remy was stretching; preparing for their session. He sees her and grins. "Afternoon chere."

Ana simply nodded to him—still angry about what he said to her. His charm was useless on her, but that never stopped the 'swamp rat' from trying. She began to stretch and ignored Remy's gaze, which would have made her blush if she wasn't so annoyed.

When she faced him, Gambit examined her with his dark eyes. "You ready to begin?"

She gets into her fighting stance as she made sure her gloves and sleeves were secured. She then pulls up her collar, which also functioned as a mask, and pulled it over her lower face for protection. She threw the first strike.

Gambit blocked a blow from Rogue as they fought. She was getting better with her kicks, she actually clipped him with a kick to his shin. He smirked when she tried to complete a roundhouse kick to his abdomen, but he grabbed her leg and held her there. She scowled at him as she tried to hit him with her left, but he used his other hand to stop the fist and hold it. His smirk widens into a grin as he disciplines. "Come on chere, you know better than to leave yourself so vulnerable with a roundhouse—"

"Does it matter?" She asked him. "It's not like I'll be fighting on the team."

Remy sighs as he lets her go. "That's what this is about chere?"

Rogue doesn't answer as she pulls her collar off her face. She grabs her water and gulps it down as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Growling in frustration, she finally threw off her constrictive jacket and gloves to let her skin feel the cool air.

She sat down and continued drinking as Gambit told her. "You know you ain't ready yet cher. Listen to Gambit—you need more training before you face the X-Men or the MRD—"

"And yet they let Toad and Quill fight on the team—and their powers are useless." She spat in annoyance.

Gambit kneels in front of her. "You'll have your chance Ana—"

"Rogue. My mutant name is Rogue." She told him. "Jus' like yours is Gambit."

He snorts a laugh. "You can always call me Remy, chere."

She frowned. "Are you laughin' at me Gambit?"

"Why, are you joking, Rogue?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "I knew you could never take me seriously." She gets up, and he follows her. She turns around in frustration. "Stop followin' me!"

Gambit raised an eyebrow. "Hmph, you mus' be mad 'cause you usually add 'swamp-rat' when you yell at me."

"This isn't funny. I've been trainin' my whole life to fight on the team—to contribute somethin'—"

"Fighting against your own kind ain't helping mutants chere."  
"Then why're you here; if you don't believe in the Brotherhood why train me to fight?"

Remy gets out a cigarette and lights it. "'Cause, you're the only one worth trainin' Ana."

She stops talking and tried not to let the words get to her—but as usual, Remy always found a way to soften her up. She remembered the first time they met…two years back when she was sixteen.

* * *

Rogue followed her mama and Destiny into Magneto's chamber. Today, she was going to get a personal trainer to prepare her for the Brotherhood. She heard he was a professional thief from New Orleans, and an Alpha-class mutant like Magneto. They went into Magneto's room and Rogue sees her leader standing at his desk. She also sees a young man sitting in a chair casually. She was surprised how good-looking he was—he had a handsome face, thick brown hair, and a lean yet muscular body. His eyes move and land on her. She sees his eyes were black with red irises, and she couldn't stop staring at him as he gazed back with a lazy smirk.

Magneto introduces the mutant. "This is Gambit; Remy LeBeau was a high member of the Thieves guild and has the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy and cause them to explode. Rogue, he will be your trainer."

Rogue nods. "Yes sir."

Gambit gets out of the chair and strolls over to her. He holds out his hand. "Call me Remy, petite."

"My name's Ana—" She places her gloved hand in his, but instead of shaking it he brings it to his lips. Rogue blushed a bright red and snaps her hand back from his grasp.

He chuckles at her in amusement; unaware of Mystique glaring at him dangerously.

"Are you sure Gambit is qualified to train Rogue?" Raven asked Magneto.

The master of magnetism smiles. "Trust me Mystique, Mr. LeBeau is one of the best mutants I've come across. Gambit, I suggest you and Rogue should go and begin your training for today."

Remy glances at Magneto with a flash of bitterness, but it passed quickly. "Sure thing Magneto."

Ana leads Remy to the 'training room' aka the basement, as Mystique watches them closely.

She explains to Remy. "The basement is training area for all of the Brotherhood members—"

"And what of the Acolytes?" He inquired.

Rogue knows he was talking about Magneto's elite squad of mutants and answered. "They're situated elsewhere, Magneto simply visits the base of the Brotherhood to check our progress with our leader Mystique."

"Your mother?" He asked her.

"Yes, Mystique took me in when I was only twelve years old."

"That's when your powers kicked in?"

They made it to the basement, which was empty, and she turned to face him. "Yeah, I'm sure Magneto explained my power to ya'."

"Gamma-class mutation, right chere?"

She crosses her tightly clothed arms and nods. "Yeah."

He appraises her thoughtfully. "Sorry to hear that—I am."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter." She didn't like thinking about how she could never have skin-to-skin contact with anyone.

He takes off his trench coat and tells her. "We'll start with the basics, then we'll move to climbin'."…

Ana trained with Gambit daily, and developed a crush on her mentor, but she would die if she ever admitted it or if he ever figured it out. He would flirt with her playfully at times, but it was never serious. Remy was the only mutant that wasn't afraid of getting too close when they boxed and spared. At times, his carefree and sarcastic attitude drove her crazy, but his charming and patient persona made her fond of him. They developed a close bond of teacher and student, but it would clash. It was a vicious and idiotic cycle between them.

* * *

Kid Omega's voice suddenly went through their heads. _Magneto wants both of you in his office now._

Remy sighed as he went upstairs and Ana follows him quickly—wondering what Magneto wanted.

When they walk into the office they see Destiny, Mystique, Scarlet Witch, and Magneto were there waiting for them. Gambit asks. "What is this 'bout Magneto?"

Magneto explains. "I will be leaving for the Acolyte base with the Scarlet Witch, Crystal, and Luna. While I'm gone, I want you all to work hard at your next mission to be able to infiltrate the X-Men, and also Cerebro."

Gambit tilts his head. "Yeah?"

Magneto nods. "Yes, the Brotherhood will be in the process of obtaining Cerebro with our inside agent Pyro, but he cannot do this alone." He turns his gaze to Ana. "Rogue this will be your mission; you become a student at Xavier's Institute and secretly obtain information on our enemies, Cerebro, as well as their security."

Ana's grey-green eyes widen. "M-me?"

Destiny explains. "You will work beside Pyro—you must establish relationships with as many X-Men and students as possible to gain their trust and learn of their weaknesses. Your alias will be simple; Marian Stockholme, a runaway mutant from Mississippi—you have the powers you have now, and when the X-Men find you—you are trying to escape from being taken by the Brotherhood."

Rogue nods in understanding. Mystique smiles at her daughter with pride.

Remy shook his head. "No."

Everyone in the room stared at Remy.

"And why not?" Magneto inquired.

Gambit's jaw was clenched. "You're throwing her into the snake's nest Magneto! Sending her in as spy with only Pyro to help her—among telepaths and deadly mutants—it's a suicide mission. She ain't ready."

Rogue flushed red. "I am ready—"

Scarlet Witch breaks in calmly. "Gambit, Rogue is one of our best fighters, we would not send her in if she wasn't ready."

"And if the X-Men realize she's a spy? What then?" Remy snapped.

Mystique orders; gold eyes flashing. "Enough Gambit; this is Rogue's mission. She's the best mutant for this—the X-Men have no inkling of her, her powers will make it difficult for any telepath to read her thoughts with so many memories she carries, and she was trained by all of us to handle any mission."

Magneto agrees. "Mystique and I have discussed this time and again; we've come to the conclusion that Rogue will become our 'scout' for the Brotherhood along with Pyro." He tells Ana. "Mutant kind relies on this mission—if we ever wish to have the upper hand and win this war this mission must be a success."

Ana promises. "I will complete the mission Magneto; no matter what."

Mystique and Destiny gaze at Ana in pride, as Remy glared at Magneto. Erick simply grinned at Remy with a confident air. It begins.

* * *

Graydon Creed lay back on the couch in exhaustion as a turbulent cloud of emotions whirled through him. "Dr. Sofen…ever since I was attacked—I can't stop seeing that damn mutant's eyes…" He closed his eyes and could imagine the black orbs burning into his soul. "They were the eyes of the devil…I've been so emotional since then…"

Dr. Sofen nods as she writes his answer down. "I see, and have you tried any sort of outlets or exercises to control these emotions?"

"I've been rereading the Bible…and praying…" He sniffs as he wiped the tears off his face. "And He answered!"

"He?" She looks up with skeptical blue eyes.

"God." Creed faces her with a ecstatic and crazed grin.

"And what has God told you Graydon?"

"He told me—even though my parents were—were—" He instantly felt sick and cried. "Even though they were mutants—I was still pure!"

Dr. Sofen nods as she listened.

"He told me—I was so pure and filled with so much power—that I must lead a purge to dispel the demons!"

"Demons?"

"Mutants—I must destroy them—with the power of God—the power he grants me!" Graydon sits up and explains excitedly. "Don't you see Doctor—God chose me to be humankind's savoir."

She stood. "Excuse me for a moment, Graydon." She leaves him and makes a call. She waits for three rings until someone picks up: "Yes?"

"Colonel William Stryker?" She asked.

"Dr. Sophen, how is our patient?"

"He is showing signs of Megalomania…he believes he is some type of God-sent to exterminate mutants. It was most likely triggered when he learned of his parentage as well as being attacked emotionally by a mutant."

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Well, how interesting."

Dr. Sophen asked. "What do you want me to do? And how much are you willing to pay?"

Stryker tells the doctor her payment as well as what to tell Graydon. She agrees and quickly shuts her phone as she walks back in.

Creed was whispering into clasped hands, but stopped when she entered. He looks up at her and told her. "I'm not sick Doctor…I've finally seen the light…what my destiny is…"

Dr. Sophen kneels down and agrees in a sweet voice. "But of course Graydon; I believe in you. I have a friend who also believes in your purge and is willing to help you in abolishing the 'demons'." She gives him a card. "His name is Colonel William Stryker; I'm sure you've heard of him?"

He takes the card and gasped. "Of course! He's part of the team that started the MRD…he wants to help me with my destiny?" He gazed at the Doctor.

She puts on a smile. "But of course Graydon. He'll be able to help you save humankind in the name of 'God'."

Graydon Creed felt hope surge through him as he gazed at the card. "Yes…" He remembered all the damned mutants…they'll be destroyed soon…he, as well as the innocent, will be rid of them…he will send them back to hell.

* * *

Forge analyzed Graydon Creed's genetic signature and DNA strands in Moira's lab. He sighed in frustration—lab work was Hank's thing, not his. He was a tech guy. He types the information into the computer and it analyzed the findings. Not a trace of the X-Gene…he wasn't even a carrier…He pulls up the picture of Graydon; one of the many things he managed to hack. He pulls up the file the Institute had on Victor Creed and decided to do a facial analysis. The screen graphics graphed out the faces at high speed, but even Forge could tell the similarities. The dark brown eyes were obvious…as well as the square jaw structure, but Graydon''s face was thinner and he had reddish-brown hair instead of gold-brown mane like Victor. The computer sceen suddenly had a green bar slashing through it that blinked. **MATCH**

Forge blinked in shock as the results printed out. "Well I'll be damned…all we need is Sabretooth's DNA to fully confirm this…but if my tech. says there are facial similarities that fathers pass down to sons…shit, the two could be father and son…"

* * *

**bdjfbkjbautytujhepom ekfbsdfhksjn :**

**sndgijskdgnksjdngfkwnbgfkjsn fgkjjngfkjsnfkjsfnksngkdfngk jdfngjkdngkjfnkdjfngkfngksjn gkjdfsngfkjnfkjna amkna sdkdfnaksndfwal""""**

**Brother: Hey guys, I have to type for my sister today-her fingers are numb because she went out today without her glittens...and pockets. So...um...this chapter was interesting to read because we meet Crystal and the Scarlet witch. We also meet our oc Pastmaster...poor dude. Uh what else?"**

**gnreijiebgbhjjnkkrelikgon **

**"Hey, get off the keyboard! Ok, uh author says that Graydon is super crazy and is the reason for the purifiers being created-"**

**nkjsgnkje ! !hnkrjnhrklndkndrt**

**"What? How is that giving too much away? Stryker is using Graydon to create another organization to destroy mutants-"**

**njksgnkknjfreviews thwernjdsm nks.**

**"Fine! Ok, a special thanks to our reviewers:**

**To Chocoegg333: Thanks for reviewing! We're happy that you love it! **

**To Syryn17: Thanks for reviewing, and you are a good judge of character-**

**ndsjfndsjfnsj**

**"Ok sis, I'm getting to that. And we just discovered who being sent to help Pyro: Rogue!"**

**bhgrjcoldsocold**

**"We introduced Rogue and Gambit's relationship into the mix and it was fun for the author to write and she is excited to send Rogue into the X-Men as a double agent, transform the crazy Graydon into a purifier leader, and 'ship' the characters she always thought should be shipped. Sis, I'm new at this-what's shipped?"**

**nrjngkrnjfrnjfrjf"We ehhhhhj don't own Marvel**

**"Good job sis! We don't own Marvel. All rights reserved to them and STAN LEE!" Brother listens to sister. "Uh-huh, I'll tell them, but I think that's using your audience. Fine." Turns to screen. "Why am I writing stage directions? Ok, readers, we adore every review we get. It makes us very happy and grateful and sis says if you leave more reviews then she will be able to magically type again...how does that make sense sis?"**

**ndnndjjknnuummmbfinggeress dwmkjfn**

**"Ok, r&r please, and don't worry about the author; she's a drama queen and her fingers are fine." Yells at sister. "If they're still cold run your hands under hot water!" **


	18. Chapter 17: Colossus and Cannonball

Piotr was carrying over the toolbox for the broken down tractor—brakes were damaged. He made sure to only walk on the stone pathway so he wouldn't sink into the freshly plowed fields. Then he makes it to the bottom of the hill, where his father and the other farmhands were fixing the tractor on the crest. He then sees Illyana, his little sister, was in the field right beside him. He calls over to her. "Hey Snowflake!"

Illyana turns around as much as she could; her straw-colored hair was billowing in the wind.

"What are you doing there? Mother is going to have a heart attack when she sees what you did to your new boots." He laughs at her when she narrowed her eyes at him.

The nine year old girl whines. "Keep quiet Piotr! I'm trying to find my bracelet that I dropped." She doesn't move from her spot. Piotr sees her boots were stuck ankle-deep in the muddy ground.

Piotr puts down the toolbox as he tried not to laugh. He takes one step in, knowing he was strong enough to pull himself out of the mud if he didn't go in too deep. He reaches over to his little sister. "Come on, grab my hand, Snowflake."

Illyana tries to grab his hand, but he was still too far away. "Come closer—"

Piotr heard a terrible noise of creaking metal as the farmhands yelled and shouted. Piotr turns to see the tractor was sliding down the hill. Illyana screamed as she struggled. Piotr felt his heart race as he reached out and grabbed his sister. He turned his back to the tractor and shut his eyes knowing he had no time to move and hoped he could at least shield Illyana.

Piotr felt the impact crash into him and he braced himself as crashing metal and his sister's shrieks filled his ears. When he opened his eyes he was surrounded by pieces of the tractor. Illyana was holding onto him and shaking, but she was unharmed. He turned and saw that most of the tractor was behind him…he stopped it! How…

Illyana touched his face as she stared at him. "Piotr! Your face!"

He sees his parents and the farmhands were also staring at him in shock. He looked back down at his sister and almost dropped her in astonishment; his arms—they were made of metal. His skin had become metallic and 10x's stronger than usual. The fifteen year old now looked like a man of steel.

* * *

Trinity was surprised that the Institute had school uniforms. The skirts were pleated, dark grey with a plaid pattern of blue and yellow. Trinity wore a white blouse with short sleeves and a blue bow to tie up the collar. She looked like she was going to an interview…which was true. She missed her mom and sister—they left yesterday. She sighed, she hoped that she could do this. How was she going to convince the Guthrie's to send their son to the Xavier Institute? She picks up her purse as well as the Bamf doll. She held the doll close—she felt like a little girl…she was going out…out of the Institute…out of the state. She hoped she was ready.

Trinity walked out of her room and sees Bobby was walking down the hall in his own uniform; a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, a grey sweater vest, and grey slacks with the same plaid designs like hers. He smiled at her. "Hey, ready to go?"

Trinity nods as she followed him. She stopped when she heard. "Trin!"

She turns to see Allie running toward her. Allie hugged her sister. "See ya!" She notices the Bamf doll. "Are you taking that on the plane?"

Trinity suddenly notices that she was still holding onto Bamf. She hugs the doll tightly, until she gives it to Allie. "Here, hold onto this for me?"

Allie takes it. "Cara did a great job, huh?"

Trinity smiled. "She sure did." She then told her. "Listen to Leon and Mansi. And please behave yourself."

Allie rolled her eyes as she hugged the doll. "Yeah, yeah." She then runs off.

* * *

Cerebro had alerted the professor of another hit. When he checked, Cerebro locked onto a boy named Piotr Rasputin in Lake Baikal, Siberia. Piotr had the ability to transform his skin into organic steel which increased his strength and mass. He sighed, he needed to go to Kentucky, but Piotr needed his help. He calls out to Logan, Betsy, and Kurt. As soon as he rolled out of Cerebro he saw Xi'an, Bobby, and Trinity talking to Dom and Kendra about visiting Kentucky.

Xi'an turns to him. "Professor? Did we get another hit?"

"Yes, I'm sending Wolverine, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler to check on a young mutant in Siberia. We will still be able to meet with Samuel Guthrie." He informs them, and as soon as he did his X-Men walked up and he gave them all the information on Piotr. The X-men left to go on their mission as Kendra and Dominic left for classes while wishing Trinity luck.

Jean drove Xi'an, Xavier, Bobby, and Trinity to the airport. Once there, Jean pulled Trinity aside. "Are you ready for this?" She asked excitedly.

Trinity nods. "Yeah…I hope."

Jean smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You've advanced in your training more than expected. You'll do great."

"Thanks." Trinity told her and was about to get onto the plane, when Jean suddenly gave her a hug. Trinity was surprised and finally hugged her back. She then got onto her plane.

* * *

Dominic had pulled on a generic X-suit as quickly as he could and he raced to the X-Jet. Until he ran into Allie. Allie scoffed as she was knocked down. "Hey!"

Dominic side-stepped her. "Sorry 'bout that!"

Allie hops up as she picked up Bamf. "Hold on, why are you wearing that?"

"Uh—I'll tell you later." He was about to bolt, but she grabbed onto his arm:

"Tell me or I'm telling Leon!"

Dom glared down at his sister. "You wouldn't."

"You're going on a mission aren't you!" Allie's green eyes sparkled cheerfully.

He sighs. "Yeah, I'm going to sneak along to help a kid in Russia."

Allie whispered excitedly. "Can I come?"

"No!" He looks around quickly. "Allie, please."

She smirked. "Fine, but you owe me big."

"Yeah, sure." He runs down the hall. Once he gets into the hanger he sneaks into the Blackbird. Dom finds the storage space in the clinic room of the jet. He gets into it and shuts the door.

A moment later he hears Psylocke, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler enter the jet. After some idle chatter, the jet starts up. Dominic smiled as he felt the lift off; they were off.

* * *

They were in first class. Xi'an sat with the professor in front of them and Trinity sat next to Bobby. Trinity breathed slowly as she kept her eyes fixed on the back of the Professor's head to concentrate. She would be fine as long as she stayed calm.

Bobby was looking out of the window. "Look at this. Incredible huh?"

Trinity shook her head as she felt nauseated. "No thanks."

Bobby shuts the window. "Oh you're afraid of heights."

"No, just of falling." Trinity tried not to think about her fall from the apartment. She gagged and covered her mouth.

Bobby turns and sees a business man a few rows back was green. "Looks like that business man is messing your emotions. It'll be ok, we should be there soon before you toss your cookies."

"Lovely." She breathed.

Bobby watches her. "Why do you want to be an X-Man? You don't seem like the adventure type."

"Thanks for the honesty." Trinity answers—feeling even more worried that she might not be ready for this.

Bobby smiled. "Sorry, that's how I am. I'm just curious—what's your reason for wanting to be an X-Man?"

Trinity finally responds. "Training makes feel stronger…I don't feel as afraid because I feel like I could defend myself. Also, being chased down…I don't want anyone to go through that. My mom has these extraordinary powers and she uses them every day to help others. Now I want to do the same instead moping around being scared and sorry."

Bobby whistles. "Wow. That's pretty deep."

"Why do you want to be an X-Man?" Trinity inquired.

Bobby grins. "Well, whoever gets the chance to be a super hero?"

Trinity smiled and agrees. The plane suddenly shook as announcements explain. "Ladies and Gentlemen we are simply experiencing some minor turbulence."

Trinity gasped as she griped the armrests and shut her eyes tightly.

"Are you alright Trinity?" The professor asked.

"Okay." Trinity gasped as she made sure to control herself.

Xi'an tries to reassure her. "It's alright it'll pass."

Bobby hands her the barf-bag. "Be sure not look inside."

Trinity opened it and…well you know the rest.

* * *

Dominic was grinning like a madman and wondered when they were going to make it to Russia—

_Dominic! _Psylocke's voice exclaimed in his head, making Dominic jump and bump his shoulder.

_Hey Betsy…_ Dominic thought nervously.

_Being a stowaway are we?_ Betsy thought to him.

Dom begged. _Please don't take me back!_

He heard telepathic laughter._ Don't worry…I admire your tenacity. Besides, this mission shouldn't hurt. I'll just send a message to your uncle and let Logan know you stowed away._

_Betsy wait!_ He felt himself pale. He then heard a growl as a feral mutant approached his hiding place and opened the door. He was face-to-face with Logan.

Dom gives a sheepish grin. "Hey there."

Logan grabbed him by the collar and wrenched him out of the compartment. Dom tried not to seem frightened, but failed.

Wolverine placed him in a seat and he was surrounded by Psylocke and Nightcrawler. He sees Psylocke and Nightcrawler looked amused, but Logan looked annoyed which was terrifying. Nightcrawler grinned and asked Wolverine. "So herr Logan, what should we do with him?"

Logan glared down at Dom. "What I always do with stowaways—toss 'em out."

Dominic gulped and wondered if he could survive a fall like that…probably…hopefully.

Betsy and Kurt laugh at the boy's expression. "Don't worry Dominic." Betsy told him. "The worse he can do is growl at you."

Logan raised a brow at her and scowled.

Kurt chuckled. "Remember when I first stowed away?"

"Yeah that was also the first time I threw you into a wall." Logan smirked.

"Um. What are you going to do to me?" Dom asked.

Betsy grinned. "Well, you're already here, so you might as well help us out." She shoots a look at Logan. "It's not like we're going to be fighting the Brotherhood—how could they even make it to Russia—"

"Don't." Kurt told her. "You'll jinx us!"

"What?" She asked.

The X-Man explains. "It's like saying "It can't get any worse" and then it becomes worse. Just don't jinx us. Just by saying that, the Brotherhood would probably meet us in Siberia."

"That doesn't make any sense—" She began, but Dom interrupts her:

"Don't, irony will bite you in the ass."

Wolverine saunters off and tells them. "Well, you might as well settle in. We won't be in Siberia for a while." He then nods to Dominic. "Hope you're ready for this Nic."

Dom grinned madly. "Hell yeah."

* * *

At the airport the Professor, Xi'an, and the students were picked up by Sam's stepfather; Stan G. Colt. Stan seemed like a normal father, bagged blue eyes, reddish hair and a friendly, yet strong hand shake. Trinity noticed something about his aura…it was darkened…mysterious, like someone who was keeping a secret. Stan got them into his van which could seat up to eight people. They finally make it to the Guthrie house. Trinity was shocked to sense so many auras together. Stan leads them inside. "Come on in, Lucinda is making dinner."

"It smells delicious." Xi'an complimented.

A young girl with golden hair suddenly runs down the hall and calls. "Daddy!"

"Hey Cassie." He lifts her up and introduces her. "This is my daughter."

Cassie smiles at the strangers. "Hi—are you here about Sam?"

The Professor smiled back. "Yes we are Cassandra."

"Is he a superhero?" Cassie asked excitedly.

Her father puts her down. "How about you help mom with dinner?"

"Ok, but Joelle and Paige are already helping Lucinda out." She runs off into the kitchen.

Stan sighed. "We've been a family for couple years now…Cassie still isn't used to having Lucinda as a mother. Some of the older kids still haven't accepted me as a father."

The Professor nods in understanding. "By any chance was this the topic of Sam's anger when his powers manifested?"

Stan nods as he leads them to the backyard. "Somewhat, it actually started about his older brother Eli running away."

"Why did he run away?" Xi'an asked.

Stan stopped at the door and looked around before explaining. "Eli has always been different. He ran away after some arguments with Lucinda. Sam was upset his older brother left and with his mutation things have not been easy for Sam. He wanted to go after Eli, but explained to him that Eli was an adult who could do what he wanted and needed his space. Then Sam burst through the door like a rocket."

"So Eli ran away because he was fighting with his mother; was it about mutants?" Bobby asked; trying to get everything straight.

Stan shook his head. "No, it's about something else. Don't judge Lucinda too harshly—she loves Eli, she just doesn't understand him…" He leads them outside. They see an entire group of kids running about. There was a boy with dark red hair was playing the guitar under the tree. Stan nods to him. "That's Jay; Lucinda's third son." Two little blonde kids who looked like twins raced by as they played tag. "The twins; Lewis and Tammy-Lynn; Lucinda's youngest." There was a boy with brown hair, glasses, and had a rifle shooting empty soda cans off a tree branch. "That's Jeb." He points to a brunette girl climbing a different tree. "Melody—Lucinda's third daughter."

A teenage girl with brown hair suddenly walked out of the house holding ginger-haired toddler. "Dad! Ma says it's your turn to watch Willy." She hands the boy to Stan.

"Thanks Joelle." He shows the boy off to them. "Our son; William—also known as Willy."

Trinity smiled timidly as the baby smiled at her and reached out to hold some of her hair. Trinity grimaced as the baby pulled on her hair and giggled. Stan tries to detach his son's fingers from Trinity's hair, but she just takes the baby. "It's alright, I'll just hold him until he lets go." The baby gurgles excitedly as he looked at each curl with interest.

Stan stops Jeb, from running inside and asks. "Hey bud, where's your brother?"

"Which one?" Jeb laughed, he suddenly notices the strangers. "Hey."

The professor and his group greeted Jeb. The boy then tells his stepfather. "Sam's at the creek."

"Can you go and bring him here—these folks came a long way from the Xavier Institute."

"Alright," Jeb runs into the woods to get his brother.

The rest of the Gutherie kids surround Trinity and Bobby with interest.

Melody asked. "So what can ya'll do?"

Bobby smirked as he cups his hands together like he was holding something. When he opens them, there was a pristine snowball.

Some of the kids exclaimed in excitement, but Jay scoffed. "So you can make snow cones?"

Bobby tosses the snowball and it hits Jay's shirt. The boy hissed in surprise at how cold it was as his siblings laughed.

Bobby grinned. "I can also make ice." He lifts his palm and an ice sculpture forms into what looked like an angel. He hands the mini ice sculpture to Tammy-Lynn who squealed in amazement. Her twin brother quickly grew jealous and begged. "I want one too!"

Bobby makes him an ice horse and the boy grinned from ear to ear. The professor smiled. "Bobby, why don't show the children some more tricks until Sam arrives." Bobby nods and the children follow him eagerly over to a rusty swing set. Trinity fanned herself with one hand since she was busy holding Willy. It was hot in Kentucky. The Professor was busy explaining about what the Institute had to offer to Stan, who listened carefully. Lucinda, a woman with auburn hair, walked out with a crockpot of chili as another blonde teenage girl held a plate of steaming rolls. They place it on one of the picnic tables. The girl began setting out plates as the mother came over and spoke to the professor—she felt scared and uncertain. The girl seemed sad too—as if she wanted to go as well, and listened to the discussion closely with interest. Trinity wondered if her own mother felt that way…she was too busy feeling sorry about herself that she didn't pay attention to her mother's emotions.

Lucinda soon helped Trinity and took the baby from her. "Thank you, Willy seems to like you."

"He's adorable." She told her.

"He's a lot like Sam was as a baby." She suddenly felt sad as she went over to listen to the professor once more.

They see Jeb came back alone and shrugged his shoulders while muttering. "Sam ain't coming—he's moody again."

Xi'an tells Trinity. "Maybe you should go and talk to Sam, I bet he would want to talk to someone around his age about this."

Trinity tilts her head. "Wouldn't Bobby be a better choice?"

Xi'an shrugged cheerfully. "Boys tend to listen more to nice, pretty girls."

Trinity blushed in embarrassment and rolled her eyes at the comment.

Stan suddenly spoke up. "Sam isn't ready to listen to anyone, but you can try—he's down the trail. Just take a left at the tire swing and you'll find the creek."

Lucinda sighs as she goes over and starts serving dinner as she held her baby son.

Trinity looks at the Professor, who nods for her to go ahead. Trinity took a deep breath and walked into the woods. She walked down the trail until she could feel someone else…the aura was familiar. She quickly realized it was Sam—his aura was just like the one in Cerebro. She climbs down the hill and sees the creek, as well as a tall boy with blonde hair sitting on the edge. She takes a deep breath and called. "Sam?"

The boy jumps up and turns around quickly in surprise. He became even more astonished when he saw her. "Hello there…uh, you lost?"

"No, I'm Trinitia Leonardo—" She puts out her hand awkwardly. "I'm a student from the Xavier Institute."

Sam's green eyes became wary. "Oh…right."

Trinity puts her hand down. "Um…my Professor and Miss Coy-Mahn would love to meet you. They're back at your house."

Sam nods. "Yeah." He sits back down. Trinity felt his emotions; fear, sadness, frustration, and confusion.

She sits next to him. "Sam?"

He turns to her. "I'm not going yet—I ain't ready."

She felt his distress. "Why?"

Sam motioned around him. "This is my home—my family's here. I can't up and leave 'em. Do you understand what it's like to be uprooted from your family after finding out you have these bizarre powers…while people talk about you like you're a freak?"

"Yes." Trinity tells him.

Sam looked at her curiously. "You do? But you seem so normal…"

She smiled sadly. "No, afraid not…There is a difference between us though. You have the choice to go…I didn't."

Sam frowned. "What do ya' mean?"

Trinity sighed and finally explains. "I discovered my powers in a mall—filled with people…I made every person faint by manipulating their emotions—I didn't even mean for it to happen. But when it did…the MRD chased me and my family. The Xavier Institute saved us, and gave us a second chance. They gave us a safe place and teachers to teach us how to control our abilities so we could live in peace with our powers."

"You're lucky your family gets to live with you there." Sam tells her.

Trinity agrees. "Yeah, I'm happy to have my brother and sister with me…even my cousins, aunt, and uncle are staying with me to help out…but I still left people behind. My parents and my baby sister Cara." She opens her locket and shows him Cara. "They visit, but it's not the same. I miss her everyday." She closed the locket. "I feel upset that I had to leave home Sam…but, I'm also happy and relieved to have this sanctuary to help me through being a mutant. Everyone knows what I'm going through and help me so much. They can help you figure everything out too."

Sam listens to her and says. "I just don't get why this happened to me all of a sudden…why now?"

Trinity feels his despair. "I can't tell you how many times I've asked myself that. But I can tell you this; you can find so many answers at Xavier's…even answers to questions you never thought of…" She stands up and offers him her hand. "Come on, you should meet the Professor."

Sam stares at her and finally takes her hand. When he was on his feet he walked back with her toward the house.

* * *

Piotr waits inside the house with his sister nervously. His father sent the farmhands home, and went to the doctor's with their mother to inquire about Piotr's… "growth spurt" was what his mother shrilly called it. They didn't want to take Piotr with them in case he caused a panic, and Illyana stayed behind because when Piotr saved her he accidently twisted her right foot in the mud. Illyana laid on the couch with an icepack on her ankle and watched her big brother with wide grey eyes.

The boy stares at his arms which reflected his confused metal face. It looked like he was a robot…or an alien. Could he be a…a mutant? He heard stories from aunts and uncles about the Chernobyl incident mutating hundreds of people…but they were myths. Or were they? There have been mutant phenomena in Russia, but that was in big cities, not Siberia.

Piotr noticed that it wasn't just his skin that changed, but his muscle mass had increased along with his height. He must've gained some weight. He felt as though he could uproot a tree with his bare hands—he probably could. Piotr suddenly saw something big fly to the ground from the window. He peers out of it and sees a man standing outside his house. It was strange, the man wore a cape and a helmet…the man just stood there watching their house. Illyana hops over to her brother on one foot. "What is it Piotr?"

"There's a man outside." He tells her as he walks over to the door, but Illyana grabs onto his arm.

"What are you doing? Mama and Papa said to stay inside!" She whines as she glared at the window.

Piotr removes her from his arm and explains. "I'm just going to see what he wants." He didn't like the look of the man.

Illyana hops over to the coat rack. She grabs a large coat with a hood and gives it to her brother. "Well, don't let him see you."

Piotr had a hard time fitting his arms through the sleeves, but when he managed to pull on the jacket he pulls up the hood to hide his face. Piotr then opened the door and stepped out, making sure he kept his face hidden from the stranger. "Can I help you?" He asked the stranger in a clear voice.

The man stood there and asked. "Why don't you come closer? I can barely hear you over all this wind."

Piotr could tell this man was a foreigner because of his dialect, but he couldn't place it. He inched closer and called. "Can I help you?"

The man seemed to chuckle. "Yes, and I can help you. But first, why don't you lower your hood so I can see whom I'm addressing?"

Piotr felt a shiver go up his spine. "I'm afraid you have to leave sir. Strangers aren't welcome here." He was about to step inside, but the door suddenly slammed shut and locked. Piotr wondered why Illyana would play tricks at such a serious time…until he heard a scream as the house shook. "Illyana!" Piotr tried to open the door, but the doorknob and hinges stayed in place. Before he could shatter the door, the stranger tells him. "She's safe. Do not worry."

Piotr turned toward the stranger in both fear and hatred…he caused this…he didn't know how, but this stranger was causing this. "What do you want!"

The man remained silent for a moment and answered. "I want you to be what you are meant to be Piotr Rasputin; a colossal being of great strength. Do you even know what you are?"

Piotr suddenly realized his hood had fallen off, and the stranger clearly saw him…but he had the feeling he already knew.

The stranger continues. "You are a mutant—the next step in the evolution of mankind—the future of Homo Superior." The man motioned to himself. "Just like me and so many others. We have formed a group to fight for our right to live and thrive against the human vermin that try to destroy us."

Piotr shook his head. "I'm not a mutant, now stop this and leave!"

The man takes a step forward. "Piotr, do you think you can continue leaving a peaceful life here? Soon they will come and attack you as if you're a monster. I can help you—I can make you into a God you are destined to be."

Piotr spits at the man. "I don't believe in gods or monsters—so you might as well go!"

The man shook his head. "I'm not leaving."

Piotr tries to get back in and runs over the window and sees Illyana banging on the glass fearfully. He sees the TV set, the lamp, and other metal objects flying through the house. Piotr shouts for his sister to stand back. He shattered the window and reached in to grab his sister and pull her out, but before he could, wires wrapped around Illyana's feet. Illyana screamed in terror as the wires pulled her to the ground and dragged into the kitchen; out of sight.

Piotr roared in horror. "No!"

Piotr turned to the man and ran at him. He had to stop him—even if it meant pummeling him into the ground. The stranger held up a hand as if it would stop Piotr. The stranger seemed to start in fear—like something unexpected happened. Piotr was about to tackle him, but the man suddenly flew into the air before he could even hit him.

The stranger's hands shimmered with a mysterious power, and something suddenly wrapped around Piotr's wrist. He sees it was a piece of the destroyed tractor—it was constricted around his wrist like a bracelet and it shimmered like the stranger's hand. Another metal piece attacked Piotr and wrapped around his ankle. Another one constricted his other wrist, one quickly wrapped around his forehead like a head band, and the last piece wrapped around his left ankle. Piotr couldn't tear the pieces off, and his arms suddenly were wrenched behind his back by an invisible force, his ankles were also suspended from making any movement. He was quickly lifted into the air by the force and faced the stranger. No matter how hard Piotr tried, he could not break or fight his bonds. The stranger explains. "No use struggling—I do not wish to fight you."

Piotr glowered at him, but was surprised to hear a jet approach. He looked to the right and saw a black jet land in one of their distant fields.

The stranger saw it as well and sneered. "Do you not see—they already come." He tells the boy. "You must fight them to survive."

Piotr growled in a shaking voice. "I will not fight for you."

The strange mutant grinned. "You will learn to." He peered at the house. "For you and your sister's sake."

* * *

The team gets out of the jet as Betsy explained. "Alright, we are simply here to help and explain to Piotr N. Rasputin what happened to him and his options on how to cope. So Logan, keep your claws in. Kurt, keep your image inducer on. And Dom, don't create any sonic blasts and we should be able to recruit a new student."

Logan's claws suddenly popped out.

Betsy rolled her eyes. "Seriously Logan?"

He clarifies. "Magneto's here."

Betsy suddenly looked out into the space Logan was staring at as Nightcrawler teleported on top of the jet to get a better look.

Dom felt uneasy; this was the man who wanted his sister dead. He asks Wolverine. "How do you know?"

"I can smell him." Logan looks down at the boy. "You should've stayed at home Nic."

Betsy shook her head. "I can't read any telepathic waves from him—he must be wearing his helmet…I can't get anything on the Rasputins…he must be using his powers at an extreme level."

"Do magnetic waves block telepathy?" Dominic asked.

Betsy raised a purple brow. "Yes it does—how do you know Magneto controls magnetic waves?

Logan waves the question away. "We have bigger problems Pscyhe."

"Right." She says as she stared at each teammate. "Nightcrawler, go in as a scout."

Nightcrawler nods. "Yes ma'am." He teleports away.

Psylocke grinned at Wolverine. "We're going to have to be sneaky."

He smirked. "Just the way I like it."

"The problem is—what are we going to do if Magneto takes control of your skeleton?" She asks him in concern.

Wolverine stared at the farmhouse. "It takes a lot of his power to do that…if it happens again—I'll handle it. Just stay clear from me."

She nods, and orders Dominic. "You stay here."

Dominic complained. "I can help you—"

"You can get in the way." Wolverine tells him.

Psylocke agreed. "Stay put Dom, that's an order." The X-Men go off as they use their com-links to check in with Nightcrawler.

Dominic watches them and smirks when they went down the next hill, then he could finally follow them.

* * *

Psylocke and Wolverine stayed low as they traveled across the wheat. Stealth was second nature to them—Betsy was an ex-STRIKE agent, while Logan was…well, Logan. Betsy contacted Kurt:

_What do you have Nightcrawler?_ She had to concentrate—it was like trying to talk through a cellphone with plenty of static.

_Ach! Elisa! You need to warn me before you crash into my mind. _He thought back anxiously.

Betsy smirked to herself. _Code names Nightcrawler—you're not a rookie anymore. _

_Right, I see a metal man—_Betsy sees the telepathic image of a metal man. _And he was speaking to Magneto._

_A new Brotherhood member?_

_Not sure, something's going on inside the house, but I can't get a good look. _

_Stay where you are, we'll be there soon. I'll try to stay in contact with all of you, but it'll be tricky with all of these magnetic waves. Psylocke out._

She focused on the house and farm house in front of them. She also saw a remains of a tractor and hoped that Magneto didn't attack the family. A flash of light caught her attention and she saw Magneto was standing on the roof of a farm house casually—metal helmet subtly catching the sunlight.

_Wolverine, I have a visual on Magneto—_

_Psyche, check your one o'clock. _Wolverine's mind tells her.

She does and felt her eyes widen the giant metal-man stood before them—several feet away. She tried to enter his mind, but the magnetic waves surrounding his metal headband interfered.

She felt Kurt was near the house and told him to stay. They needed to approach Magneto, they needed to find out what was going on—and the less Magneto knew about their hidden scout the better. She relays this to her team and then she stood up and Wolverine followed her close behind. The Colossus started and stared at them intently—his metallic chest heaving with anxious breaths. Wolverine kept his eye on him as she focused on Magneto. She call up to him:

"Magneto, where are the Rasputins?"

He peers down at her like she was an insect. "Closer than you think Psylocke, I see you brought Xavier's pet with you."

Betsy could hear the low growl in Wolverine's throat and was glad he had plenty of self-control…for the moment. "Where's your pet? Still lost?" She was referring to Sabretooth. "Unless you want an X-Man after you I suggest it stays that way."

The master of metal smirks. "I'm afraid my assassin has gone rogue…"

Psylocke and Wolverine tense. She was done with this. "Magneto, this isn't a game, I'm willing to use deadly force against you if needed. If necessary. Where are the Rasputins?"

Magneto peers at them smugly. "You're right Psylocke, this is not a game, it is a war."

There was a creaking noise as the metal-man marched over to them with stiff and powerful steps. Wolverine faces him and gets out his claws. "Come on Tin-man, the lady doesn't want any trouble—that doesn't mean I don't."

The man says something to them in Russian, which was lost to them. Logan's thoughts seem to spark from the language though, like he knew it. Betsy asks him:

_Do you know what he's saying?_

_No…I don't know Russian…I think._ His mind was still an amnesic mess unfortunately.

Psylocke sighed to the man. "Stand down!"

The man's fist slowly lifted as it tried to strike her. She dodge it and tried to kick his leg. She heard a crack and grit in teeth in pain—it was like she tried to kick down a solid metal wall. Wolverine shoved her to the ground so she wouldn't be crushed by another blow.

She got up just as Wolverine told her. "Take Magneto down—I got this!" He was dodging each blow as he analyzed the opponent's moves so he could find an opening. He got out his claws and made his own swipe, but the opponent was quick. He suddenly knocked in the head. Logan fell to the ground as he tried not to pass out. He heard more Russian:

"Niet! Niet! Prosti!—I'm sorry! I cannot control myself. I do not want to fight you!"

Wolverine lifted his head up and wondered how the hell he just understood Russian.

* * *

Betsy ran off and was about to call to Nightcrawler to join when she caught some thoughts from the house. She focused until she was sweating and found the mind of a girl named Illyana—she was trapped inside…and she knew the metal man—it was Piotr!

Betsy yelled to Logan, who was on his feet and dodging the blows. "Wolverine, stop! It's Piotr!"

"That explains a lot." He huffed. "He was just telling me about Magneto was forcing him to fight." He suddenly sliced at the boy's wrists with his claws.

"Wolverine!" Psylocke relaxed when she saw he simply sliced off the metal cuffs that Magneto used to control him, and now the claws clicked back into his hands. She quickly sends a message to Nightcrawler:

_There's a girl trapped inside the house—_

_On it!_

Betsy turned around just in time to see the cuffs fly back onto Piotr's wrists. The boy shouts as the cuffs tightened around his metal wrists. She wracked her mind for another plan, until she noticed that Wolverine was holding stalk still—she couldn't get into his mind.

Magnetic waves slowly pulled Wolverine's claws out as he struggled. His body swung around by itself to face her. Wolverine's jaw was clenched shut, but his eyes told her: "RUN."

His body was flung at her, along with Piotr. Psylocke had to dodge the numerous and clumsy blows that whistled passed her. One hit from Piotr would crush her, one from Wolverine would impale her. She was screwed.

* * *

Nightcrawler teleported up to a door and peered inside. There were several objects flying around the house. He takes a deep breath and teleports in. He was lucky to not teleport into any of the projectiles. He got on all fours and raced into the next room. He was met with a scream. He saw a girl, around Allie's age, was tied to a beam in the kitchen by multiple wires and cords. He stands while narrowly dodging a flying fork. He tells her while putting his hands up. "It's alright frau, I am here to help."

She whimpers. "Pomogite mne!"

Kurt tries to untie her, but it was unsuccessful. He suddenly saw something move toward him out of the corner of his eye as the girl shrieked:

"Beregisʹ!"

Nightcrawler moved to the side to block Illyana from the projectile as a kitchen knife soared by and sliced his cheek.

* * *

Psylocke shouts as Wolverine's claws raked across her arm. Luckily, the slices were shallow, but it still stung. She was getting tired, she couldn't keep this up.

* * *

Dominic saw what was happening as he tried to figure out what he should do. If he knew how to fight he could help Betsy—but all he could do was get in the way. He look up at the magnetic puppet master and knew what he had to do. He ran up to the ladder of the farmhouse and started the climb—he was fortunate that Magneto was too busy controlling his pawns to notice a teenage boy climbing onto a roof and sneaking up behind him. Dominic tried not to breathe as he balanced himself on the roof. One sonic blast and he could knock Magneto down, break his concentration, and apprehend him long enough to help the X-Men. He bent his legs as the sonic waves built up and he leapt with his signature explosion. The force launched him into Magneto's back as he tackled him off the roof, and they both fell to the ground.

* * *

Wolverine suddenly felt the strength return to his bones. He sheathed his claws with a shaky sigh. He saw the boy was also free, so he sliced off the metal bands. He looked over to the roof and saw Magneto was off it—facing Dominic. He orders Psylocke. "Keep him out of sight with the elf, and be ready to take over Magneto's mind." He runs over toward Magneto without a second thought.

* * *

Magneto shakily stood up, but Dominic was already on his feet with his fists up. Magneto glared at him until his lips curved into a grin. "Ah, you must be Meg's son. You look a lot like she did when she was your age." He stood up. "However, you are a straggly youth as Leon was."

Dominic glared at him; why was he going on about this—like he knew his mom and uncle—was he trying to get inside his head? He shouts back. "Surrender."

Magneto laughs. "Do you know who I am, son?"

"Yeah. You're Magneto—you're the bastard who's after my sister!"

Magneto's grin disappeared and he regarded the boy seriously as the house behind him suddenly lifted into the air. Dominic gaped as the massive structure floated a story up. Magneto puts up a hand. "Break my concentration and it falls and you would have a young girl's death on your hands. I wish to speak to you."

* * *

Kurt was trying to cut through most of the wires with the knife that scratched him. He managed to cut her legs free and was trying to free her arms when the entire house trembled. Illyana's grey-blue eyes widened in terror as the house jolted and shook. Nightcrawler held onto the knife as he consoled. "It's alright, it's alright." He peers out the window and sees they were rising. He goes back to sawing at the wires as quickly as he could.

* * *

Dominic stays rooted to the spot and tears his eyes off the house. "What the hell do you want?"

Magneto chuckled. "I doubt you use that kind of language around your mother—she was always a well-mannered girl."

"How do you know her?" Dominic asked.

Magneto's grin grew. "Why they haven't told you? You should get used to it. Xavier prefers to keep secrets instead of telling the truth, it is because he does not trust you."

Dominic sneered. "Cut the crap and answer my question."

His brows were furrowed in concentration as he told him. "I was a co-founder of the Institute, I taught your uncle, aunt, and mother—they were my first students."

Dominic felt his heart skip a beat. There was no way this insane terrorist taught his mom—that he helped form the institute—he was a leader of a terrorist organization and was trying to kill his sister.

Magneto continues. "There are many things about Xavier's that you don't know. Secrets no one is willing to reveal due to their own selfish reasons."

He spat at him. "Okay, since you're so high and mighty with the truth—tell me why you're trying to kill my sister!"

He tells him. "I'm afraid sacrifices must be made to ensure the safety of mutant kind; your sister is too dangerous Dominic."

"Bullshit!" He snapped furiously. "You and your men are going to stay away from her!"

"Or…?"

"Or I'll destroy you in one blast." He lifts up a hand threateningly.

He laughs. "Yes, you should have joined the Brotherhood Dominic, we could have used a brave and powerful mutant that understands that peaceful negotiation is not the way to victory."

"I don't give a shit about your Brotherhood! You stay away from my sister. You send another freak after her—I will take care of them and come for you Magneto." He shouts every word with passion—because he was going to stay true to his word.

Magneto's humor was gone and replaced with cold intensity. "You should watch your mouth boy—it will get you into trouble one day."

He raised his arms up. "How about now?"

Magneto glared at him, and the house behind him suddenly collapsed into the ground. Dominic felt his heart stop as the house fell apart—splintered into shards of wood—like it was made of toothpicks. Dominic stared at the structure in horror…no.

Magneto tells him. "What do you have to say now boy? You've just caused me to kill that girl. You have much to learn about being a hero—"

Dominic suddenly blasted Magneto with as much force as he could muster. Magneto flew back and tumbled into the ground like a rag doll. Dominic chased after him and threw more blasts at him. Magneto dodged some of them, which hit and shattered the earth like mines were going off.

Magneto lifted his hand up and a piece of tractor knocked Dominic to the ground. He tried to get up, but the metal constricted around him like a screeching python. He was then lifted to face the livid face of Magneto. Dominic struggled, he could probably get his left arm out if he had another second.

Magneto snarled. "I am done with dealing with you child. Let this be a lesson to you; never try to fight your superiors if you wish to live!"

Dominic suddenly noticed the majority of Magneto's magnetic waves surrounded his helmet—that's what was blocking Psylocke's telepathy. Dominic needed to blast it off. He just needed to free his hand from the metal—

There was a loud, familiar roar. Wolverine was suddenly there and sliced at Dominic's bonds. Magneto suddenly lifted Wolverine into the air with his powers and sneered. "How idiotic can you be? When will you learn, animal!"

Dominic got his hand out of the metal, and raised it palm up; right below Magento's chin. Magento's head turned to look at the boy in surprise, but before he could do anything, Dominic blasted the helmet off into the air. Dominic fell to the ground, no longer suspended by Magneto, who was on the ground holding his head in agony.

Wolverine was there once again and sliced the rest of the metal off Dominic and helped him up. He suddenly saw Betsy was there staring at Magneto intently—working her telepathy to keep him from using his powers or fight. The metal-man was there—no longer fighting and looking relieved as he held a girl—girl! Dominic sighed in relief; she got out.

Nightcrawler was there smiling as he clapped Dominic's shoulder. "Next mission, you are definitely coming with us."

Wolverine snorts a chuckle in agreement, which made Dominic swell with pride—until he felt a heavy breeze fly passed him. Psylocke fell over with a cry as the black blur raced passed her and over to Magneto. Dominic sent a blast at Quicksilver, but it was too late—they were gone.

* * *

Trinity walked with her group as she smiled; she did it, she helped the Professor admit a new student into the Institute. They were waiting for Ororo to pick them up; that was when she felt it. She felt the familiarity of someone she had not seen yet with her knew powers, but she knew it was him. She turned around quickly and saw the familiar brown crew cut and dark skin. Without thinking, she raced over to him. "Jamie!"

He turned around immediately. His green-brown eyes widen and Trinity could feel his surprise as he dropped his backpack to hug her. "Trin!"

She embraced him tightly and then pull away to look at his brown trench coat and strange dark green attire. She suddenly remember how Collette and her family were still worrying about him and smacked his arm. "Where have you been?!"

Jamie rubbed his arm and smiled down at her. "Around."

Trinity glares up at him. "Do you know how worried we've been? Especially Collette!"

Jamie sighed. "Yeah, don't worry, I've called her and my aunt and uncle."

"Then why are you in New York?"

He picks up his bag. "I found some work."

"What kind?" She asked him.

He brings her out of the traffic of people and to the side. "It's…complicated."

"Is it illegal?" She felt a sudden twinge of fear when he hesitated. "Jamie!"

"Trin." He holds her shoulders to calm her. "It's nothing I can't handle." He moved some hair out of her face. "You look great."

"Thanks, you do too. I've been so worried about you Jamie."

He smiled at her. "I've missed you too…"

Trinity felt the deep sincerity in his words and looked down in embarrassment as she awkwardly said. "A lot has changed…I've…changed."

"Yeah, how?"

She looked up at him and felt terrible. "Jamie…"

"Trinity!"

She turned around when she heard John's voice call her. She sees he was with Ms. Monroe and the others and they were approaching them. John's blue-green eyes glanced at Jamie apprehensively for a moment as he went up to Trinity.

"John." She felt ashamed when her new boyfriend placed an arm around her and kissed her cheek in front of Jamie. She turned to Jamie and felt his surprise, hurt, and anger. He glowered at John's arm around her as John was smirking at him with a superior grin.

The Professor was then lecturing Trinity about not running off, but she barely listened as she stared at Jamie apologetically. "Jamie—"

"I got to go, take care of yourself, Trin." He gives John one last glare as he turns away and rushed into the crowd.

Trinity felt saddening guilt fill her as she took deep breaths and tried not to go after him…The professor watched her with a wary eye, and they all got into the car. She tried to get her mind off Jamie by asking John. "What are you doing here?"

John raised a brow. "Can't a guy welcome his girlfriend back from her first mission?"

She smiled up at him as she shyly grasped his hand. "Thanks."

Psylocke managed to create a psychic rapport translater, so everyone could understand Piotr and Illyana's Russian. Psylocke explained to them what had just happened and the children listened with wide eyes and would look at each other in surprise. Suddenly, a truck drove up and two adults got out and shouted in shock when they saw their ruined house and their children surrounded by strangers. Betsy managed to calm them down and explained everything. Wolverine was busy smoking a cigar and leaning on the side of the barn house. Dominic went over and stood next to him.

Wolverine peered at him for a moment, but didn't move and the two listened to what was happening:

Betsy and Kurt were telling the Rasputins about the Institute and how it would be for the best if they sent Piotr there and that they should leave the farm in case Magneto ever came back to wreak vengeance. The mother burst into tears and hugged her son as the father thought about it and said sadly:

"Well…we were thinking of moving in with my brother in Moscow if things turned bad this year with the crop…looks like it's time to move." He turned to his son. "Son, do you want to go to this Institute?"

"Niet! I will not lose my other son—my heart cannot bear it." The mother cried.

Piotr hugged his mother gently; making sure not to crush her in his metal arms. He finally answered. "I do not want to go, but I'll have to…"

The father nods. "Then that's what you must do." He goes over and removes his wife from him. "Come, let's find out things and get out of here."

Piotr was about to follow them, but Illyana cried as she held onto his arm. "Don't go Piotr!"

He knelt down and told his sister sadly. "I have to Snowflake."

Her lip trembled. "But who would help us move? Who would draw me pictures? Who would carry me when I get tired…" She stared weeping. "It's not fair!"

Piotr's eyes water. "I know, but you have to be brave and help mother and father out. You get to live in Moscow—you've always wanted to see the city."

Illyana sniffled. "Just to see it—not live there."

"I promise I'll send you a letter every day with a picture—like they did in the old days." He tells her with a gentle smile.

Illyana nods. "Would you draw the Statue of Liberty?"

"Yes." He takes her hand and they walk over to the wreckage of their home to salvage their belongings.

Dominic watched…Illyana reminded him of Cara…his heart lurched. She was only a state away…Piotr would be in another continent away from his family…He thought that saving the day would make him feel celebratory…but he felt sad. He looked up at the X-Men who were watching him.

Kurt asked. "You alright Dominic?"

He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to the wreck-pile of a house. "Yeah, let's go help them out." They follow him, and as Wolverine passed him he ruffled his hair. Dom smirked and he didn't bother to fix it—his dad always did the same to him. It was his way of saying: "You did good Dom. You're okay kid."

* * *

Trinity walked into the driveway and suddenly felt nervous when she couldn't feel her brother's aura. She made sure to search around, and panicked when she didn't find him. She tells the professor what happened and rushed inside. She found her uncle in the library tutoring Rahne, Hernando, and Kenneth about the Civil Rights movement.

"Dom's missing!"

Leon lifted his head. "I know" He goes back to teaching.

She gaped. "Well where is he?"

"He snuck onto the Piotr mission." Leon told her. "I'm still trying to decide his punishment."

She squeaked—unsure what to say.

"Breathe." Leon tells her.

She finally took some deep breaths.

Kenneth reassures her. "He'll be alright, don't worry. How was your trip?"

"It was fine…Sam is going to be a new student here."

The students asked her what Sam was like and she answered their questions, until she made up an excuse to leave. She searched for Jean and saw she was in the garage. She saw that Jean had just pulled in from shopping.

She smiled at Trinity. "Hey, how was the trip?"

Trinity helped her with some of the bags. "It was pretty good. Sam is going to come here in a month. I kept emotions under control."

"I knew you would."

Trinity wondered if she could even ask her, but she felt no one else could help her. "Jean…I need some advice."

Jean stops and puts her bags down. "What's wrong Trinity?"

She stared at her shoes. "I ran into Jamie today…he's an old friend and my ex-boyfriend…he still likes me and…John was there and Jamie found out I'm with him." She looks up at Jean. "I feel terrible—I care about Jamie so much, but I just can't go back to being his girlfriend because of how much I've changed—and John—he makes me feel like my old-self, but not really—it's so confusing and he just makes me feel happy and I don't if should stay with him if it's going to hurt Jamie so much—It makes me wonder if I did the right thing to date someone else—and I'm regretting ever breaking up with Jamie because it's ruining our friendship!" She said this all in in a rush.

Jean stared at her as she tried to gather everything she just confessed. She finally said. "I understand what you're going through. Here's my question, don't think about how either of them would feel for a moment, and tell me who Trinity would be with."

She thought for a moment. "I like John…I like Jamie."

Jean clarifies. "Who do you need as a companion?"

She went through it…Jamie was friend since…but John… "John. He understands what I'm going through and is trying to help overcome my fears. He makes me feel like I could do anything I want. He makes me feels alive and adventurous."

Jean nods. "No one can make this decision for you, and it will take more than a day to figure out. But if it's true what you said, then maybe you should stick with John?"

Trinity smiled in relief. "Thanks Jean…I'll think about what you said." She helps her bring in the groceries and suddenly felt Dominic's aura was near. She ran into the basement—to the hanger. She burst through and saw Dominic was stepping off the jet. "DOM!"

She ran toward her surprised brother who gave her a happy smile as she hugged him. She stepped away from him to yell into his face. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING—YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED ON THIS MISSION! YOU CAN'T JUST RUN OFF WHENEVER YOU WANT! WHAT TYPE OF EXAMPLE ARE YOU SETTING FOR ALLIE AND CARA! IF MOM KNEW SHE WOULD HAVE A HEARTATTACK I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS. DAD WOULD BE SO PISSED AT YOU. DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARED I WAS WHEN I COULDN'T SENSE YOU? YOU BETTER HAVE ENJOYED THAT MISSION BECAUSE YOU ARE LEAVING THIS PLACE EVER AGAIN!" She panted in exhaustion at her rant.

Kurt chuckled with Betsy. "Don't you dare laugh! Why didn't you turn around to bring him back?" Trinity snipped. Kurt and Betsy's smile grew in amusement. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

Dominic cleared his throat. "Uh Trin, you should meet Piotr Rasputin, he's the kid from Russia and he's going to stay here for a bit."

Trinity sensed a gentle green aura and turned to see a metal-man standing behind Wolverine and watching her anxiously. She felt instantly embarrassed. "Uh—hi, I'm sorry. I'm Trinity Leonardo."

He nods and repeats with broken English. "Hi—I am Piotr Nickolvich Rasputin."

He looks to Logan, who nods to him. "Eto pravilʹno."

Trinity blinked in surprise; Logan knew Russian?

She was surprised to see Betsy's arm was scratched with three claw marks and had glanced at Wolverine nervously who caught her gaze and scared her half to death—it was like he knew. Luckily Kurt noticed the tension between them and intervened by asking Trinity how her trip was, and she gladly told him about it and noticed he had a scratch on his cheek that was almost covered by his fur. She gazed at her brother and was glad he was unmarked. She peered at the new student and saw how sweet his aura was, it was even ringed with a cheerful and valiant red.

The professor and Ororo then approach. The professor greets Piotr in fluent Russian. Piotr nods and follows them. He carried a backpack, a satchel, and an easel case. The florescent lights streaked across his metallic skin in an eerie way. Ororo stayed behind and gave Dominic a stern look with her lovely blue eyes. "You are in trouble little one."

Dominic smiled. "Yeah, I thought as much."

She turned away to talk to the X-Men, but a small smile tugged at her lips.

Trinity sat in the living room with the rest of the students as Dominic told them what happened. John was there nodding off with his arm comfortably around Trinity, which Dominic and Kenneth ignored so they wouldn't ensue Trinity's wrath. Allie was sitting beside the dogs and Rahne as she squealed and made multiple comments with Bobby and Hernando. Sofia and Amara would be the ones to silence them, as Sammy egged Dominic on to continue. Trinity felt shocked about what happened—this Magneto sounded incredible and perilous. She was extremely relieved Dom and the others were okay. The discussion then turned over to Bobby and Trinity's trip. Fortunately, Bobby did all the talking for her—she just wanted to relax.

Someone cleared their throat, and Trinity felt Scott and Piotr's auras. They all turned to see Scott was in the doorway with a thin, broad shoulder teenage boy. His hair was no longer a dark, metallic grey but black, and he had shrunk down a couple feet to his normal height. The metal-man had disappeared and left behind a shy and sturdy boy. He looked at all of them bashfully as Scott introduced him. Everyone said their hellos and Scott left Piotr to them.

He stood in the doorway and everyone waited for him to do something. Kendra suddenly stood up and walked up to him. Everyone was astonished; Kendra was the shyest of all of them and now she approached Piotr with calm confidence and said. "Hi, I'm Kendra."

He nods. "Piotr."

"I saw the easel you were carrying; do you like to paint with oil, acrylic, or water color?"

"Oil—when I can get my hands on it." He answers, and Trinity felt his aura relax and become more content.

Everyone was surprised at how well Piotr was speaking English and Lorna whispered to her. "The Professor can telepathically have people understand and speak English—he did the same thing with Hernando, Sofia, Kurt."

Hernando nods. "It still freaks me out that I dream in English instead of Spanish."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Drama queen."

Kendra nods, ignoring her friends, and tells Piotr. "I like to paint in watercolor. Do you want to sit with us?"

Piotr nods. "Da—I mean, yes."

Kendra gives him a smile and leads him over to where she sat on the floor. They began a conversation about favorite artists and the best landscapes to paint. Dominic chuckled; of course Kendra would befriend the Russian Colossus. They moved onto discussing the typical topics kids like to mull over after a long day.

* * *

Quicksilver stopped in an alley in Moscow, since he was too tired to even run out of Russia. He placed his father on the ground. Magneto panted out exhausted breaths as he pathetically remained on the ground.

Pietro tells him. "You used too much of your powers when you lifted the house and controlled the mutants."

Magneto sent him a glare to silence him. "What are you doing here Pietro?"

Quicksilver tears off his helmet angrily. "I just saved your life and that's all you have to say!"

Eric stood, but stumbled, and his son caught him before he hit the ground. Magneto pushed away from him and sat down on a trashcan. "Answer my question."

"I heard you left Crystal, Luna, and Wanda with Exodus to go to Russia. Tele-girl sent me here."

"Who told you?" He asked, wanting to know who would be so stupid to tell of his plans.

"The one who told you to go to Russia."

Destiny...she must have a good reason for disobeying his orders. He thought about what happened; he just lost a steel soldier for the cause. He needed a new method to find mutants...He suddenly remembered his son was there when the ingrate cleared his throat. Eric gazed at his pathetic excuse for a son. He was small and weak. He had extraordinary gifts that he only used to feint instead of fight. Even as a child he was an embarrassment; when he left his sister to die...that was it. However, Pietro was still loyal and useful to him, that's why he tolerated him. "Go back to the base. Make sure Rogue is prepared for her mission."

His son argues. "Father, you are too weak to travel alone."

Magneto leapt to his feet as all the metal objects in the alley rose with him. "Watch your tongue! I am Magneto; master of magnetism and leader of Homo Superiors. I am not some old man to underestimate or question. Now go."

Quicksilver glowers at him. "Very well father, make sure you keep the girls safe." He puts on his helmet and raced away.

Magneto sighed as he looked up at the sky and thought about all his plans and prayed they would work; an entire race rested on his shoulders. He heard shouts and saw men pointing their machine guns at him. He smirked darkly when they fired at him. Men and their guns. He stopped the bullets in midair and shot them back; instantly killing a few men. The others tried to run, but he blocked their escape with a dumpster. They stare at him in horror and pathetically fired more shots which he easily caught. He had no pity for these anti-mutant terrorists. He let their last screams echo through Russia. He then walked passed their corpses without a second glance.

* * *

**Author: "Hey, I know it's been a long time, but this is a looong story. I loved writing about Piotr, he's always been one of my favorites."**

**Brother remains sleeping on the couch.**

**"My bro is sick with the flu. I've been so lonely without his sly insults. Hehe! So we meet Jamie; I bet you guys know who he's working for. It was fun writing about Sam's family, and you'll learn more about Eli, Stan G. Colt, and Cassie. Here's a secret; Stan G. Colt is actually a well-known Marvel character using a pseudonym, just move the letters around and you'll find out who he really is. You might hate me for making him Sam's step-father, but who knows. Magneto. It's fun to write about him. Trinity is dealing with typical teenage girl issues...atypical girl issues is more like it. Dom is awesome.**

**A huge thanks to reviewers:**

**Chocoegg333: Sorry for not updating soon enough.**

**Kimojuno : Thanks, we try.**

**Please review and let us know your thoughts. Send me messages and I'll answer any questions. We don't own Marvel."**

**"They know that stupid." Brother grumbles.**

**"Brother! You're awake!"**

**"No dip Sherlock."**

**"Ok you can go back to sleep now."**

**Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 18: Berzerker and Rogue part 1

Mansi stared at the items with pursed lips. "Jean."

Jean was restocking the pantries with her telekinesis. "Yeah?"

Mansi holds up the box of pregnancy tests. "I asked for painkillers, not these. And please, for the love of Thor, tell me you got these for yourself and not for a student."

"Kendra asked me to get them—" Jean laughed when Mansi dropped the box in shock. "I'm kidding, it's for me—just in case."

Mansi glares at her and smiles. "I'm gonna kick your ass—" Fleur walks into the kitchen, and Masni turns to her while changing her word. "—Ssssweetie!"

Fleur sees the box and picks it up. She giggles and runs off with it. Jean blanches and chases after her as Mansi called. "Make sure Leon knows I'm going to the store." She grabs her purse and wonders if she should take Logan's bike just to mess with him. She sees Ororo walk by. "Hey 'Ro!"

Storm turns to her. "Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"To read before I teach my next class."

"It's Saturday Ororo." Mansi opens the door to the garage. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Mansi smiled when she saw that she got Scott's old red convertible. This was going to be fun. Ororo was sure to ask. "Does Scott know we are using his car?"

Mansi smirked. "I won't tell if you don't."

Storm grinned as she got into the passenger seat. Mansi tried to jump over the door and into the seat like she did as a kid, but failed and smacked her knee against the steering wheel—beeping the horn and hurting herself. Ororo giggled as Mansi cursed and screeched out of the driveway.

They walk out of the store with their items as well as extra crap they bought for the hell of it. Well, the crap that Mansi bought. They walk over to the car when a teenage boy with dirty blonde dreadlocks shoved passed them. A police officer followed him, while shouting. "Stop mutie!" Making pedestrians to move aside or run into stores fearfully. The two women share a quick glance and run after them to see the boy was cornered. He was panting as he held some small bags of chips to his chest and had his back pressed against the wall. His hands were buzzing with blue electricity. The officer had a gun out. "Freeze!" The boy glared at him and stayed put as the officer called for help. "I caught the mutant; send MRD here immediately."

Ororo and Mansi intervened. Storm said. "Please sir don't—" but Mansi interrupted her by rushing up to the boy. "Ray!" She goes up to him and grabs him into an embrace. The boy looks shocked. She then scolds him. "I can't believe you've been gone for this long! Your mother and I have been worried sick about you!" Mansi turns to the police officer. "Officer I am so sorry my nephew has caused so much trouble."

The officer scrutinized the boy. "The mutant is your nephew?"

"Yes." Mansi tells him. "He's my sister's kid."

He turns to the boy. "This true?"

The boy nods. "Yeah. She's my mom's younger sister; my Godmother."

The officer explains to Mansi. "I'm sorry ma'am, but your nephew attacked a police officer—"

"Because he tried to knock my brains out!" The boy growls. "All because I'm a 'mutie'."

"You were stealing from a hospital vending machine by using your—your powers you almost made the entire building loose power. And then you shocked my partner like a Taser. You're going downtown kid."

Mansi raised a hand. "My nephew isn't going anywhere with you sir."

The officer tells her. "I'll arrest you too lady."

He walks around her and holds out a pair of cuffs. "Cuff yourself."

The boy reaches out for the cuffs and grasped them. An electric current went through them and made the cop pass out. The boy tried to run, but Ororo grabbed his arm. "Hold on."

The boy didn't fight back and tells them. "Look—I'm grateful you tried to help me, but we better get out of here before he wakes up."

Mansi nods to the car. "Come on then."

They all get into the car and drive off. Mansi peers at the boy behind her. "What is your name?"

"Berzerker." The boy tells her. She noticed his clothes were as greased and dirtied as his hair. His face was also unnaturally thin.

She stops and parks the car. She turns around and asked him. "Why did you steal the food?"

He doesn't answer and glared at her with his blue eyes. Mansi looked at Ororo who gently asks. "Where do you live Berzerker?"

"You wouldn't know." He scoffed.

Ororo watches him with wise eyes. "Tunnels, shelters, or alleys?"

He peered at her. "What gave me away?"

"You're stealing from vending machines for food, instead of picking pockets. You look like you haven't eaten in two days—I had the same look in my eyes when I was young. I was an orphan pick-pocket in Cairo."

The boy stared at her surprise. He finally relents. "I live in the tunnels…Are you guys mutants—you wouldn't have helped me if you weren't."

Mansi nods to Storm. "She is. I'm not."

The boy raised a brow. "You don't hate mutants?"

"I hope so, I'm married to one." She paused before saying. "You don't have anyone to look after you?"

Berzerker shrugged.

Mansi nods. "Alright, you're coming with us."

Berzerker starts. "What?"

"We live at a mansion that shelters and teaches mutants. You're going to live there."

Berzerker gaped. "You're serious."

Mansi raised her brows. "Yeah I'm serious. It's either that or I would have to drag you by your locks—you need some medical attention, nurture, and a bath. If you like what you see you can stay—if you don't you can leave."

Berzerker stares at them and finally agrees. "Alright, you're not trying to trick me or anything—right?"

Ororo shook her head. "I swear to the Goddess we are not."

He peers at Mansi, who tells him. "If it was a trick, we wouldn't have helped you in taking down a police officer. By the way, that will be the last time you can do that; you understand?"

Berzerker smirked. "Sure." He then tells them. "He's alright, another set of officers found him."

The women look at him in surprise as Storm asked. "How do you know?"

Berzerker explains. "I can also pick radio frequencies and signals."

The women peer at each other knowingly as they drive off.

* * *

Rogue adjusted her torn jeans, mud-drenched tennis shoes, and a dirty white hoodie. She then pulls on some of her older gloves. She looked in the mirror. She had been on a diet of only a gallon of coffee and only two salted herrings a day to give her the guise of being starved and on the run. She also stopped showering and went for a run through the woods with Mystique to make herself as dirty as possible. She felt weak and shaky, but it was the perfect guise. She rubbed her arms and tried to block Pastmaster and Kid Omega's memories. She had to absorb Pastmaster's abilities to confuse any telepaths, and Kid Omega so she could use the telepathic abilities to block the Professor.

Remy was suddenly behind her. "Chere."

Ana turns to him and greets. "Remy…" She looked up at him; wishing she wasn't going to miss him.

He gazed down at her sadly. "You didn't have to starve yourself—being on the run don't mean you can't find scraps to eat."

Rogue shrugged. "Part of the disguise Remy."

He snorts in scorn, but said gently. "You don't haveta' do this Ana."

"Marian Stockholme." She corrected him. "And yeah, I do haveta' do this…it's my mission."

He sighed as he pulled out his pack of cards and shuffled through them until he picked out a card. He holds it out to her. "Here."

Rogue takes it and sees it was the Queen of Hearts card.

"She's my lucky lady." He explained with a small grin. "Keep her close."

She smiled as she tucked it into her pocket. "Thank ya' Remy…" She takes a deep breath. "Don't worry I'll do ya all proud."

His smile disappeared and he grasped her shoulder as his other gloved hand lifts her chin. "Chere, you listen to Remy. If you're in danger—don't you try ta' be brave—you run. If the X-Men find out 'bout you—don't try to fight them—just get the hell away from that place. Don't waste your time worryin' 'bout Pyro—you worry about yourself and get out of there in one piece."

Ana stared into Remy's grim eyes. "I ain't a coward Gambit."

"It ain't about bravery—it's 'bout survivin'." He pleads with her. "Don't you dare throw away your life for this mission Ana Marie—Est-ce que tu comprends ce que je dis?"

Ana stares into his black and red eyes. "I'll miss you too swamp-rat."

He breaks into a small smile as he kisses the top of her head. Ana felt a shock roll through her body, but instead of blushing she shoves him back. "Careful Remy! I could've absorbed ya!"

He chuckled. "Might've been worth it, no?"

She shook her head as she grabbed her pack and walked out. "Wish me luck…bye."

He watched her go and takes a deep breath. He wished they got someone else for the mission…

* * *

Berzerker steps out of the shower—he almost forgot how shampoo felt against his scalp. He realized he was paler—all the dirt was gone and after lathering five times his dirty blonde hair was now blonde. He sees he was given a new pair of jeans, underwear, and a t-shirt. He pulls them on; grateful that he got some new clothes. He gets out of the bathroom, only to meet Mansi who was holding a pair of scissors. She smiled at him. "Kid, I was trying not to be rude, but you need a haircut."

Berzerker touches his hair. He shrugged. "As long as you don't ruin my hair."

She grabs a trashcan and a towel. She wraps the towel around his shoulders. She then sat him in a chair and began cutting.

He asks. "Have you ever done this before?"

"It's a little late for you to ask that kid. I took a job assisting a barber once, and I cut my cousin's John's hair—it turned out pretty good, but my uncle threw a fit over it."

"Why?"

"They're Apache."

"You're an Indian?"

"Apache. I'm not from India—Columbus was a dumbass."

Berzerker snorts a laugh. "You're not like the other adults I've met."

"Thanks." She snipped the last lock of hair. "What do you think? You want me to buzz it?"

He nods. This was weird, but if someone was giving him a free haircut he was going to take it. "I want a Mohawk."

She nods as she gets the electric razor. "Alright." After a while she cursed. "Shit, I cut it pretty close—I forgot to put the guard on."

Berzerker smirked at the style—it was messy and gave him a punk-look. "I like it."

Mansi smiled. "Good—cause you're stuck with it."

Berzerker followed her out and down to a kitchen. There was a steaming bowl of chili on the counter. Berzerker attacked the food with a spoon and tried not to eat too fast or he would get sick.

Mansi gives him a biscuit. "Sorry it's leftovers, we had a lot left and I didn't have time to cook lunch."

Berzerker nods as he grabbed the biscuit and inhaled it. When he was done he burped. "Best food I had."

Mansi's grin grew. "Glad to hear it. Do you want seconds or dessert?"

"Seconds." He remembers himself. "Uh—please."

Mansi gets him some more food when her husband and daughter walked in. He peered at the boy and her. "Mansi, you didn't kidnap him did you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not—can he stay? He can produce electricity like you."

Leon gives her Fleur scrutinizes the boy. "What's your name son?"

He says with a mouthful. "Berzerker."

"What's your real name?"

"That is my real name."

"Have any others?"

He thinks for a moment and nods to Mansi. "She called me Ray. That's it."

Leon nods and asks. "You want to stay?"

"…" He thought for a minute. "Yeah."

Leon stares him down, and finally responds. "Come on."

"Can I stay?" He asks as he follows.

"It's not up to me." Leon tells him. "But I got to warn you, you can't just go or do whatever you want here; there are rules."

"Are you telling me this because I'm a dweller?" He asks defensively.

Leon smirked as they walked upstairs. "No, it's because I was once a teenager who had trouble following the rules. I still do."

Berzerker raised his eyebrows; these adults were weird…the adults he had to slum around with were usually rule-followers with grim and impatient personas that couldn't wait to get rid of him.

They walk into a room, where a woman was talking on the phone and typing on a computer like a secretary. She smiles at them and waves. She continues her conversation on the phone. "Yes sir Detective Duncan, I will be sure to notify him." She hangs up the phone and tells them. "You can go in and see him Leon," She turns to the boy. "Hello, I'm Xi'an Coy-Mahn."

"Berzerker—er—Ray." He tells her.

"Nice to meet you Ray, are you planning on staying with us?"

He nods. "If I'm lucky."

Xi'an grinned in excitement. "What's your power?"

He lifts up his hand and lets it spark with electricity. Xi'an gasped. "Amazing—he has powers just like you Leon!"

Leon walks over to the door. "Yep, all he's missing is the fire."

They walk into an office. Berzerker sees a bald man reading at his desk, as well as a terrier sitting beside him staunchly. The terrier didn't trot up to him or growl like other dogs, he just sat there and watched them coldly. Leon pats the canine's head. "Hey there Darwin."

Darwin snorts at him in annoyance and shook his head like he was fixing his hair.

Leon addresses the bald man. "Hey Charles."

Charles had closed his book and answered. "Good afternoon Leon," He smiles at Berzerker. "Hello, my name Professor Charles Xavier." Instead of standing up, he rolled back, revealing he was sitting in a wheel chair. He went over and shook Berzerker's hand. Again, these polite acts were a surprise to the tunnel dweller.

The boy realized he should speak and said. "I'm…you can call me Ray." He liked the name, it was better than his old name.

Xavier nods. "What are your powers, Ray?"

Ray shows him, just like he did back with Xi'an. The professor smiled. "Amazing, you have quite the control over your abilities. Did anyone ever teach you?"

Ray felt nervous…he had sworn never to reveal the existence of the Morlocks…but… "I've taught myself." That wasn't entirely a lie.

"When did you receive these abilities?" The professor asked.

"Um…I think I was 11." He remembered it well—some of the foster kids were beating up on him and he went berserk…hence the nickname.

"How old are you now Ray?"

"…uh," He wasn't good at math and he stopped celebrating birthdays since he was 8. "I think just turned sixteen in March."

The professor nods. "Where are your parents?"

"Don't know my dad, my mom OD-ed when I was only few months old." He shrugged.

The professor's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry—"

"Don't be. I don't remember her. Only family—sorry, families, I've had were fosters." Berzerker didn't think it was terrible about his mother when he didn't know her, he knew kids who saw their parents destroy themselves and the kids…as far as he was concerned he was better off not knowing his parents.

"You've been in foster care?"

Berzerker nods. "Yeah. Until I ran away because of my powers. You'd be surprised how people can turn a blind eye when a misfit runs away."

The professor nods. "Not really, unfortunately I've seen many atrocities my students have gone through."

Leon explains. "Charles is a telepath. He can read minds."

_Shit_. Berzerker thought anxiously. The professor shook his head. "Don't worry Ray, I would never invade anyone's privacy without permission."

"Thanks." He tells him; not quite believing him.

Charles tells him. "Ray, you can stay here as long as you need to. Do you need us to pick up your things?" There was suddenly a beeping noise, which distracted the professor.

Ray shook his head, and ignored the noise. "It's not worth it…I got everything I need here. Thanks."

The professor smiled kindly. "Leon will take you to your quarters and explain some of the rules and events here. If you'll excuse me." He leaves them.

Leon walks out and the boy follows him. "Let me show you where you'll be staying."

Ray follows him and almost scoffed at the room he was given…it was amazing. There a window that wasn't broken or smudged with dead bugs. He had a bed. A clean bed. His own room. A door to keep it to himself. Ray walked over and touched the walls, just to make sure this was happening. He must've looked crazy…who gives a shit—he had a room!

* * *

The professor found a chaotic mind that was drenched in confusion and fatigue. He had trouble focusing on it…she…he…they were in trouble. He takes off the helmet and gets out of Cerebro. He saw Moira and Sean were wanting for him.

Sean shows him his kindle, which was playing the news of the Brotherhood tearing up New York city. "The Brotherhood is causing some trouble—it looks like they're chasing someone."

"The MRD were there." Moira adds.

"And?" Charles ask.

"That's it." Sean explains. "There's nothing left, but injured agents and wreckage. The police simply quarantined the area for safety and are evacuating civilians."

"I believe I know who they're after." Xavier sends out a message to Cyclops, Marvel, Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler.

* * *

Jean sighed as she puts away the pregnancy tests as she listened to her sister, Sara, who was complaining about her second divorce…was it Paul Baily or Bart Jones or Will Abbott…no Bart was her first husband who took custody of their daughter Angelica, Mr. Abbott is the man her sister was complaining about because he wanted to take Galiyn with him for winter break and she believed that her daughter liked her father more than her, and she was currently having a happy marriage of 10 years with Paul and had a son named Joey. Jean sighed, as she listened to her sister's problems. She suddenly got a message from the professor and bid her sister goodbye as her fiancé raced into their room. She shuts the door behind him with her telekinesis as he ripped off his clothes and pulled on his costume.

Scott tells her. "Sean told me how the Brotherhood's causing trouble in the city, and the professor just contacted me about the new mutant. Looks like they're trying to 'recruit' again."

Jean nods as she pulled on her costume and thought about her own upcoming marriage with Scott…Sara's first marriage ended because it was rushed….the second one ended because Sara had an affair with Paul…what would become of her marriage? She peered at Scott sadly…what if she had an affair with—No, she can't think like that.

Scott carefully puts on his visor, and when he marched by Jean he kissed her cheek gently. Jean smiled—all doubts gone for the moment.

* * *

Wolverine was working on his bike in the garage again…ever since he had that one accident the old girl had been acting up. It was an old bike, but a good one that he would never trade. Nic—Dominic—was helping him out silently. The boy was different from his younger sister, and was also growing on him, but he would never admit it. Allie suddenly came running up and glared at her brother. Logan pulled his cowboy hat down to greet her as well as hide himself—he could smell a sibling brawl. Allie skipped over to Logan and asked. "What're you working on Logan?"

"The motorcycle." Dominic told his sister, as if to say 'go away; we're busy'.

Allie scowled at him. "Oh Dominic, can I talk to you for a moment."

He wrinkled his nose in annoyance and walked with her outside; believing Logan wouldn't be able to hear them—if only they knew his hearing was as good as his sense of smell.

Allie placed her hands on her hips. "Since when were you and Logan so buddy-buddy?"

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Since when do you care?"

She scoffed. "You were the one complaining we should give him space!"

"That's because you harass him to no end Allie." He derided.

Allie bared her teeth at her older brother. "Back off Dominic—he's my friend."

"He's a person, not an object Alicia." He looked down at his sister. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because Logan is always off doing missions or lone-wolf quests—"

"Quests?"

"Shut up! You're taking up my time with Logan!" She whined.

He snorts. "That's too bad. We're fixing his bike. Go play dolls with Fleur or hang out with the dogs."

Allie frowns angrily. "You always think I'd listen to you just because you're older!"

"And smarter." He adds.

"You're a jerk! Besides you owe me because of that mission!" She waved away a firefly that almost flew into her mouth.

Dom shook his head. "No I don't—besides all you're going to do is talk his ear off—"

Allie kicks his shin, which doesn't cause him any discomfort unfortunately. "Just because you snuck onto an X-men mission—it doesn't make you a X-Man."

Dominic smirked at her. "Allie, you have so much to learn." He goes back into the garage, only to see Logan was gone. Allie sees this also and growled in annoyance.

* * *

Ororo was escorting a class to work on astrology, the stars were finally out. She had Kenneth, Kendra, Piotr, and Rahne with her. She sits down in the grass and her class followed suit with their notebooks. Ororo points up at the sky and moved some clouds around to give them a clearer view. "Stars are simply burning orbs of gas that are millions of miles away—they are seen night because as we know our own star, the sun, is so bright that it seems that the stars are not present. Now, Ptolmy believed the heavens were fixed and unchanging, but we all know that the planets constantly rotate around the sun, and the stars are stuck in their own orbit as well. Now, can anyone tell me what a black hole is?"

Kendra raised her hand and Ororo nods for her to answer. "A black hole is a region that deforms the space-time and does not let anything escape its gravitational pull. Including light, hence the name."

This made Kenneth create more sunlight, Ororo wonders when the boy would overcome his fear of the dark, then again she had yet to overcome her claustrophobia. "Very good Kendra, can anyone tell me how they're formed?"

Piotr raised his hand timidly, and answers. "They form when a star dies; when they collapse within themselves."

Ororo points up to the sky. "Yes. They also form from the remnants of a super nova. Can anyone define what a supernova is—" She stopped when the professor interrupted her thoughts.

Kenneth answers. "A super nova is—"

Ororo shook her head and leapt to her feet with a gust of wind. "I am sorry, but we need to reschedule this session for tomorrow." She flies off to the mansion and into an open window quickly to get ready.

Rahne stretched. "Figures, there's always a mission on Saturday nights. If anyone needs me—I'll be taking a small hike through the forest." She then transforms into a wolf and runs off.

Kendra hops up and chased after her. "Wait for me Rahne, I could use a walk. It's a beautiful night."

Piotr stands up and asks Kenneth. "Should we go with them?"

Kenneth shook his head. "Naw, Rahne can take care of herself, and Kendra loves the night. Me, however, prefer it when it's light out." He walks inside with his orb of sunlight. Piotr looks up at the moon and slowly transforms into his metal form. He stares at how his skin shined with a subtle and eerie light as it reflected the stars and moon. He finally reverts back into his human form and follows the girls.

* * *

Kurt was holding Trinity up. He was on his back with his feet up and holding her hips as he held her hands in his. This was the flyer move he told her about, and it helps establish trust and balance. Trinity held onto his hands tightly as he kept her in the air. She kept her body stiff as he coached and she wondered how long he could hold her up like this. She remembered her dad performing a similar move with her when she was little: the airplane. And she would pretend she was an airplane with her arms out and unafraid to fall…

Kurt started letting go of her hands, but she gripped onto him desperately. He chuckled. "Fraulien, it's alright, just stay still and you'll stay up there." His strange feet gripped her hips for assurance. Trinity watched his aura…he was honest and earnest. She finally lets go of his hands and lifted them out like she was an airplane again. She smiled a bit as her confidence grew. Suddenly, Kurt's legs buckled, and she fell on top of him with a squeal. Kurt huffed as she fell onto his chest as she gasped in the air that was knocked out of her. He lifts his head and looks at her apologetically with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, the professor contacted me telepathically."

Trinity lifts her head to meet his gaze. "Yeah, I saw the cognitive energy—the aura that surrounds people's heads when telepathy is happening."

He smiled; showing his sharp eye teeth. "You're getting better with your powers Trin."

She smiled back. "Thanks Kurt." She was surprised how comfortable they were together…she would've never thought she'd find a friend like Kurt—

She suddenly felt John's aura walk into the danger room, which was currently working as a gym. She turned her head to see John was standing there and watching them. She realized how awkward she looked laying on top of Nightcrawler. She rolled up and hopped to her feet. "Hey John." Why did she feel nervous? Maybe it was because John felt suspicious.

He nods. "Hey, hope I'm not interrupting your training."

She helps Kurt up, who was shot John a look that felt annoyed and distrusting, but Kurt calmly tells him. "Nein, I need to go anyway for a mission."

Trinity wished him luck as she rushed off to change, but John was sure to catch her and land a deep kiss on her mouth. This caused her to blush and glance at Kurt before running off in embarrassment. John chuckled as he watched her.

Kurt grits his teeth, but lightly scolds. "You should not embarrass her—they say "hell hath no fury—"

John cuts him off. "You don't have to pretend you like me Nightcrawler." He snorts a laugh. "But you're a good actor. Go ahead, give me a lecture, seeing that Scott did it for you."

Kurt decided to make it quick—he had a mission. "Be careful with her John."

He grinned. "I can handle her."

Kurt's tail swished furiously. "I'm telling you to handle yourself."

John chuckled. "Are you actually scolding me with a straight face—wow you must really like "Trin"."

Kurt narrowed his eyes at him and gave him a dark smirk. "You think I'm joking."

"Well, I always found it hard to take you seriously." He explains.

Kurt tells him. "Then take this seriously; treat her with respect or you'll deal with me."

John rolled his eyes at this. "As well as others." He gives Kurt a cruel smirk. "Why is it that you don't trust me?"

"I don't have time to list my reasons. Trinity is a good person, she's been through a lot; remember that. Because you should."

"I bet you do." John snips with a superior look in his eye. "Night-creeper."

Nightcrawler felt his annoyance form into anger, but he teleported out before he would do anything stupid.

* * *

The X-Men were driving the X-Van into the city, except for Storm who wanted to fly ahead to scout. Wolverine was also driving his X-bike in an alternate route to sniff out the new mutant. Cyclops was debriefing his team:

"The Professor couldn't get much off the mutant Cerebro picked up, but from what we saw from the news, we can guess the Brotherhood is trying to catch him."

"Or her." Nightcrawler adds casually.

Sean/Banshee smirked at this, and continued driving. Marvel was busy trying to find the muddled mind of the mutant. She caught the chaotic mind pattern and it made her dizzy and sick and could barely discern anything…She let's go and pants. "I found him/her, but I can't focus—there's too much going on inside their head."

Cyclops nods. "Can you find any thoughts of the Brotherhood?"

Marvel concentrates and could sense them, but couldn't get inside their heads thanks to Kid Omega. "Kid Omega is back. I sense Mystique, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Quicksilver, as well as some other members we have yet to meet."

Banshee started to stop. "It's a good thing you let me tag along then, I might've lost my power, but I can still put up a fight. We're at the police barrier Marvel, you might wanta' do your thing."

Jean manipulated a police captain's mind, a man named George Stacy, to let them pass. They drove down the eerily empty street. As expected, they were attacked. Banshee screeched to a halt as the street rolled with tremors. Nightcrawler grabbed onto Cyclops and Marvel and teleported them out as Banshee leapt out of the van and ran over to the group. The tremors stop and they heard a yell and saw a flash of light. They saw Storm had swooped down and struck Avalanche down.

* * *

Storm was flying overhead and looked around for any signs of the mutant. She heard the ground shake and saw her team on the street. She quickly found Avalanche on the top of a building and causing the earthquake. She lifted her hand up and felt the electricity buzz around her arm and she let the wind drive her down. She struck Avalanche with a bolt of lightning and he fell over in a heap. She stood over him and saw her team was safe. She suddenly felt a paralyzing pain rip through her—like she was being electrocuted. Her muscles clenched up and she fell to the ground and withered.

She saw a teenage girl grinning down at her with her eyes and hands covered with purple energy. "You might control lightning Storm—but I can disrupt anything electricity based—including your nerves, bitch." She grinned as her blonde hair danced about like a wreath of fire.

Storm managed to scream out for help before she passed out.

There was a snarl and Phantazma was unable to move out of the way as Wolverine attacked. His fist collided with her face and knocked her out cold. The blow split her cheek open; any harder and Wolverine would have shattered her jaw. He goes over to Storm and checks her pulse. Her heart was slow, but she was fine. He picks her up and runs down the fire escape quickly.

* * *

Marvel senses the confused mind and follows it. "This way!" She tells her team.

They ran down the street and turned into an alley, where they caught a glimpse of someone in a white hoodie stumbling down the alley as quickly as they could. Marvel calls out. "Wait! We're here to help!"

The person paused and turned. They saw a face of a frightened girl. She looked like she was around Kurt's age, yet she had two white streaks in her brown hair. She watched them nervously, she looked like she'd been starving and suffering insomnia. Cyclops took a step forward. "It's alright, we're going to help you."

The girl stares at them anxiously and takes a step. "How do I know you ain't one of them?" Her voice shakily twangs with a Mississippi accent.

Banshee tells her. "You're going to have to trust us young one. We can get you out of here."

She takes another step, but the wall to her left suddenly fell apart. She screamed and ran. When the dust cleared, they saw it was Blob with Toad on his shoulders. Blob laughs, "Well if it ain't the X-Tools."

"That's X-Men." Cyclops lets loose a blast which hits Blob back. Toad leapt off his shoulders and threw up sludge, which hit Cyclops square in the face. Scott groaned as the green goop hardened over his visor. He sends a telepathic message to the others through Marvel: _Find her!_

* * *

Nightcrawler leapt into the air and tackled Toad as he ported. He drops Toad onto a roof and crawls over the roof with ease. Toad got to his feet and tried to attack him, but Nightcrawler ported with a "TschuB!"

Nightcrawler teleported onto a flagpole and searched for the girl. He sees her and teleports down to her. She gasped in shock, but he soothes her. "Don't worry, I'm only here to help frau."

She sighed and collapsed to her knees. Nightcrawler was about to help her up, but she exclaimed. "No! Don't touch me!"

Kurt stopped and tells her. "I won't hurt you."

She shook her head. "It's not you…whenever people touch my skin it hurts them." Her eyes water as she stares up at Nightcrawler. He stoops down and helps her up, making sure not to touch her skin and noticed she even wore gloves. "Don't worry, I got you—oof!"

He was shoved over as Quicksilver grabs the girl and raced off with her. Nightcrawler quickly ports after them.

* * *

Marvel was able to take down Blob with some psychic beatings and Cyclops blasted the goo off his face. Banshee had climbed onto a fire escape and looked around. He tells them. "I see Wolverine, he's carrying Storm—she's hurt!"

They all race out of the alley and saw Sean was right. Cyclops runs over and asks. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"One of the Brotherhood kids shocked her with some type of electrical power. Storm's fine, just knocked out." He hands her off to Banshee. "I caught a new scent that smells different from the others."

"That's our girl." Banshee tells him as they looked around. "Blob scared her off before we could get to her. I think Nightcrawler is looking for her."

Marvel shook her head. "He just contacted me that he had her, but then his thoughts became quiet…I think he's been knocked out, but Kid Omega has been messing with my telepathy."

Cyclops asks her. "But you can still block us from his influence?"

"Of course."

Cyclops inquires. "Wolverine, do you have the girl's scent?"

"I sure do." He smirked with confidence.

"Find her, but try not to—"

"Kill anyone?" Wolverine cuts him off.

Cyclops nods.

"I'll try my best." Wolverine grumbles as he ran off.

Cyclops turned to Marvel. "Can you try to take out Kid Omega?"

"Yes, but I have to stay stationary and concentrate."

Banshee speaks up. "I'll guard her and Storm, you go track down the Brotherhood and take them out."

Cyclops nods and goes off.

* * *

Marvel takes a deep breath and tries to focus. She finds Kid Omega's psyche was hard at work to block his teammates from her, and she tried to tackle his psyche, he fought back. Marvel hissed as he tried to take down her defenses with complex and brash moves—Kid Omega was no novice. She focused on shielding herself as well as her teammates against Omega's psychic jabs. She heard a yell from Banshee, but she kept her eyes shut; she needed to concentrate.

Banshee looked around and thought he saw something on the roof—projectiles were suddenly shot at them. Banshee blocked the women with his body and yelled out when brown quills stabbed into him. Luckily they didn't go in too deep, but they still stung. Banshee pulled out the quills and saw the assailant was running toward him. He saw the boy was covered in dark brown quills. Banshee focused on him and smirked as he got out his dog whistle. He blew into it and could practically hear the sound waves near Quill, and at that moment he increased the sound waves. Quill fell over and held his ears as the loud sound disorientated him. Sean quickly approached and Tased Quill, before he could shoot anymore quills. Sean turned back and saw his teammates were alright. _Yep, I still got it._

* * *

Nightcrawler sees Quicksilver drop the girl to the ground and zip around to check the ally. The young woman leaned against the wall and curled up in fear.

Nightcrawler concentrated and teleported onto Quicksilver's shoulders and teleported again as fast as he could. He teleports quickly all over the place, until Quicksilver hits him and falls out of his grasp. He simply leaps to his feet and zips away from Nightcrawler. Kurt teleports back to where he last saw the girl.

* * *

Rogue stands and waits for the X-Men, but froze when she saw a familiar portal open. Tele-girl stepped out. Rogue felt her racing heart stop, when she saw her younger sister was here. She glared at her and shook her head. Tele-girl simply lifts her up gently and gives her a wink. Rogue pulled away and pushed her—she was not going to let Edie get hurt over this.

Nightcrawler was suddenly there. Rogue glanced at Edie, who simply faced Nightcrawler in shock but raised her fists. Rogue understood her shock…they looked similar…both blue-skinned teleporters with gold eyes—also, Edie never really fought against the X-men before, she was just the porter—this would be her first fight. Kurt stands up and tells Edie. "Sorry—"

He suddenly teleports to Rogue's side and picks her up. "—But she's mine."

Rogue gives her sister one last look before she was teleported away.

* * *

Wolverine sniffed and smelt the girl was teleported away by Nightcrawler, that would have been nice to know. He turned into the next alley, but froze when he smelt gun powder. Dozens of bullets were shot into him as he fell to the ground. _Shit…that really f***ing hurts._

Mystique walks over to him with the smoking machine gun and smiled down at Wolverine. "Logan, told you I'd kill you."

Wolverine spits out some blood and pants. "I ain't dead yet Raven."

She shrugs. "Can't blame a girl for trying." She shoots more bullets; this time at his head.

* * *

Nightcrawler teleports them into another alley. Rogue held onto him, and kept staring at his face…he looked a lot like—Gun shots interrupt her thoughts. The Nightcrawler teleports onto the roof. They saw something that made Rogue gag. Mystique was standing over Wolverine, who had so many bullet holes in his body that she couldn't count them all. She didn't understand—this mission wasn't supposed to be like this. What was Ma—Mystique doing?

Mystique looked up and aimed her weapon, making a red dot appear on Nightcrawler's forehead. He teleports quickly to another roof and drops Rogue off. She leans over the edge and saw him teleport behind her and grab the gun, another teleport and he shatters it against the wall. He teleports in front of Mystique and gives her a round house kick to the face making her fall to the ground.

"My mother always told me never to hit a lady, but I think she'd let me bend the rules just this once." He told her with a patronizing smirk.

On the ground she tried to kick him down, but he dodged her move and tackled her. He manages to put her arms behind her back, lifted her to her feet, and pinned her against a wall, but the shape-shifter changed into a heavyset man and shoved Nightcrawler into the wall behind him in an attempt to crush him. However, he teleported again before he was smashed into the wall, and was crouched in front of Wolverine. "I also disagree with beating people into a pulp." He peers at his bloodied friend, and hissed. "But again, you're the exception Mystique."

Mystique transforms into him easily…simply making her skin a shade darker, shift into a young man, and grow a tail. "Vell then, vut are you waiting for mein freund?" She mocks, and leapt forward to attack.

Rogue bit her lip as the two fought, she couldn't even figure out which was her mother. She felt helpless watching. She climbed down the fire escape and hid behind the dumpster next to an unconscious Wolverine. She watched the fight and felt sick, she needed to stop this—this wasn't the plan. Wolverine groaned and Rogue froze in terror as the feral mutant's eyes opened revealing that the whites of his eyes were red from blood. He leaned forward into a crouch and leapt onto one of the Nightcrawlers— Rogue panicked and threw off a glove. "NO!" She grabbed the back of Wolverine's neck and screamed when he turned around and stabbed her in the gut.

* * *

**Author's notes: And that concludes part 1 of 2-**

**"No! What happens next!" Brother shouts.**

**Author glares at him. "I already gave you a hilarious summary on this story, since you were too lazy to help me edit let alone read this piece."**

**"I'm simply voicing what the audience is thinking; come on! Rogue was stabbed by Wolverine and you're all like 'Teehee, that's part one of two'."**

**"My voice is not that high pitched! Besides, you didn't help me at all, you were too busy watching Tobuscus videos."**

**"I thought we agreed we wouldn't tell anyone about this." **

**"Why, I think we tots have a Tobuscus and Gabuscus friendship. I'm like Tobuscus. I love those vlogs!"**

**"I think they knew that." He reads a bit. "The bit about Colossus was pointless."**

**"Screw you! It was a quiet moment!"**

**"This is why you needed to break it into 2 parts. Too much useless scenes. I did like the Kurt vs. John scene...is there something going on between him and-"**

**"Shut up."**

**"But-"**

**"Shut up! You will not spoil what happens!"**

**"Well your reaction says it all."**

**"Audience, ignore him!"**

**"I see you're really working with the Marvel characters being related to each other."**

**"We'd planned it that way because you know x-gene=hereditary traits. That's how we explained mutations."**

**"Did you have to make Firestar related to the Greys?"**

**"You suggested it!"**

**"Two years ago! I was a kid."**

**"We're still kids."**

**"Noo. You are a woman-child."**

**"I'm a freshman!"**

**"In college maybe...wait how old are you?"**

**"You're a meanie and I'll never tell."**

**"This is why I'm the mature one."**

**"Ok...let's focus-"**

**"That Tele-girl scene was not needed sis."**

**"WAAAH! WHY! You should have helped edit then!"**

**"I'm sorry." He gives her a candy bar.**

**"You're forgiven. Reviews!:**

**Chocoegg333: Thank you for your reviews. We're glad you like our conversations."**

**Brother: "Honestly it's the only time I actually speak to her."**

**"Liar! Stop trying to make them laugh.**

**Nyx811: Your review inspired me to finish up this super long chapter. Thank you."**

**"We don't own Marvel. If we did...we would take over the world. JK, the world is too messed-up to take over."**

**"He's the realist. I'm the idealist! Thank you for reading! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeease review. Perhaps the overuse of e will convince you to review."**

**"No it won't. She loves criticism and opinions. As well as comments. It gives her inspiration and makes me proud."**

**"I am trying to finish the second part of this. Wish me luck audience!"**

**"Tobuscus is awesome, and...do we have to credit him because we mentioned him?"**

**"IDK. Just do it, so I won't be arrested."**

**"Bye audience."**

**"Brother no!" ;)**


	20. Chapter 18: Rogue and Berzerker part 2

"LOGAN!" Nightcrawler yelled, as the other one gaped at them in shock.

Rogue gasped as she felt the intense pain of three claws stabbed into her, but held on as she felt herself absorb his memories and powers and finally let go as Wolverine fainted; claws sliding out of her. Rogue sobbed as she held her stomach, feeling blood leaking through her clothes. She shook as foreign memories raced through her mind. She fell onto her side in both mental and physical torture.

* * *

Marvel was finally able to take out Kid Omega and wiped the sweat from her brow. She sees the unconscious body of one of the newer Brotherhood members and peered at Sean with a smirk. "Great job Banshee."

Banshee shrugged. Storm moaned and shakily lifted herself onto her elbows. "What…"

They both knelt down next to their teammate. Marvel asks her. "How're you feeling Storm?"

Storm rubs the back of her neck. "I feel like I was hit with a Taser multiple times while running a marathon."

Banshee helps her up. "Well, at least you got out of that scrape in one piece—"

Nightcrawler suddenly teleported in front of them with Wolverine. They see Nightcrawler had some embers in his hair and a black eye. Wolverine was in worse shape. He was pale and his wounds weren't healing like they usually do. Marvel leans over him and felt fear consume her. "Wolverine!" She tried to wake him telepathically. _Logan! _

…

_Logan please!_

…_Jeanie…what the hell?_

Jean sighed in relief and started wrapping up his wounds and he groaned a little. At least he wasn't all gone.

"What happened?" Banshee asked Nightcrawler.

Nightcrawler was sitting down and panting. "I—I had the girl, but we stumbled onto Mystique and she—" He takes a breath and Storm stands over him to check his wounds. "She'd been shooting at Logan like a practice dummy. I ported the girl to the roof, and fought Mystique. Wolverine woke up and tried to attack Mystique, but she was in my form—"

"And?" Banshee asked.

"Let me finish herr Sean." Ororo helps him to his feet and gives him a look to continue. "The girl probably thought he was attacking me, and I think she used her powers on Logan."

"What are her powers?" Storm inquired.

Nightcrawler's tail curled. "I don't know, but she told me whenever she touches people she hurts them. When she touched Logan, it set him off and it was like it sucked the life out of him and he—" Kurt looked distressed. "I shouldn't have left, now she is God-knows-where—"

"Whoa, Boyo, finish the story." Sean ordered.

Jean was going through Logan's memories as she was telepathically soothing him, and choked. "Wolverine stabbed her."

* * *

She heard an explosion. Someone lifted her up and ran. Rogue was set down again, but she kept her eyes shut as the memories attacked her psyche and the wound throbbed the life out of her. Someone ripped her shirt up where her injuries were and she heard a familiar voice shout at her. "Come on—don't die on me Ana!"

Her name wasn't Ana—it was James—Logan—No Marian—Wait, she was Ana—No, she was Rogue, but who was…? She opened her eyes and saw…Remy? He stared at her in worry and sighed in relief. He helps her up. "Ana?" He held her shoulders tightly.

She felt grateful—but there was no time for this—the mission needed to be completed. She pushed him away and ran. He chased after her for a moment, but stopped. She knew he realized the mission was too important, and she loved him for it.

Rogue stumbled her way to the main street, but she was so tired and nauseated from the practiced starving, running, being stabbed, and absorbing Wolverine. Luckily, the bleeding slowed as she healed from Wolverine's powers. She suddenly felt a jab of pain in her head and she fell over as his memories took full effect. She cried as flashes of grim memories of being strapped to a surgical table, fighting wild animals, and bending over corpses of lovers attacked her brain. She sobbed in anguish at what she—he went through. Someone was standing over her, and knelt down. "Don't worry, you're safe. Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes and saw it was the X-Men leader: Cyclops. She needed him to buy her act. She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck in 'relief', making sure her ungloved hand didn't touch him, and wept like a pathetic little girl. He bought it. "It's alright." He told her as he helped her up.

* * *

"He was in his berserker mode! He did not mean to—" Kurt tried to defend his friend, but Jean held up a hand for silence:

"I'm getting a message from Cyclops." She felt relief run through her. "He found her. She's alive, and she doesn't have any injuries."

Nightcrawler gaped in astonishment. "That's impossible—I saw him stab her—"

Storm holds his shoulders to calm him. "What happened afterwards?"

Kurt sighed. "I tried to get to her, but there was an explosion. Mystique disappeared and the girl was gone, I thought she took her, but Logan's wounds weren't healing and I thought that I needed to get him some help…"

Marvel tells him. "You did the right thing Kurt, if you didn't bring him to me…" She didn't finish and focused on bandaging the rest of his wounds. "Storm you should go meet Cyclops and get the girl to the van and out of here. Kurt, could you help me with Logan?" She tries to lift him up herself and with her telekinesis, and managed to get him to his feet. Sean helps her, but holding up Logan's other side. Nightcrawler nods. "It'll be tricky porting three passengers, but I love a challenge." He teleports them to the van.

* * *

Rogue was placed in the van as the other X-men joined them. Storm had placed a blanket around her as Cyclops checked her for any injuries. She peered at Logan who was lying on the floor as Marvel worked on him. She felt…guilty. But if she didn't stop him, then he would have skewered her mother. She looked around the van. She was in the van on the way to Institute; her mission was almost complete. She kept on feigning frailty, and was ecstatic how trusting the X-Men were.

Cyclops started asking her questions. "How're you feeling?"

"Better…still shaky." She told him. She looked over at Wolverine. "Will he be okay?"

Cyclops peers at Marvel who glanced at Rogue. He explains. "Yeah, he'll be alright."

Rogue made her lip tremble. "I—I didn't mean to hurt him, but I thought he was going to attack—" She nods toward Nightcrawler. "Him."

"It's alright," Cyclops told her. "What's your name?"

"Marian Stockholme." She answered naturally.

"Where are you from?" He asked her.

"I use to live in Caldecott County, Mississippi, until…" She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "Until my parents kicked me out when they found out I was a mutant…"

"When did this happen, Marian?" Ororo asked.

She sniffled, now for the difficult story. "Six years ago…I was twelve when I kissed my friend Cody and he—he fell into a coma and I somehow got all his memories inside my head. Ever since then I've been going from shelter to shelter to find someplace to help me. I went to a bunch of clinics and emergency rooms…but when they found out I was a mutant—they would send me away and act like I never came to them. I heard about Professor Xavier and Dr. MacTaggart were genetic scientists that specialized in mutations and that they lived in New York, so I came here looking for them…an these mutants tried to take me to their 'base', and they wouldn't take no as an answer." She looks at each of them. "Please, I just want to find Xavier or MacTaggart."

Scott removes his visor and puts on his sun glasses. "Don't worry, you'll meet them pretty soon."

"Huh? You're taking me to them?"

Sean answers. "Better, we're offering you a chance to live with them as well as the other residents at the Institute."

She looks at all of them in surprise. "Are you teachers?"

Kurt grins. "You could say that."

Ororo explains. "We are instructors as well as rescuers at the Xavier Institute. We teach and help mutants. You will be safe at the Institute."

Rogue hides her smile and tearfully nods.

* * *

Trinity talks to Allison on her Skype and listened as her friend told her about her concerts:

"My agent got me some concert spots in New York city, Boston, and other major cities. We're going on tour!" Allison gushed excitedly as her silver music note nose ring sparkled as cheerfully as her attitude.

"That's amazing Daz!" Trinity was proud of her friend. "When does it start?"

"Next month."

The pride momentarily disappeared. "What about school?"

Allison bit her lip. "Oh yeah."

"What do you mean 'oh yeah'?"

"Come on Trin, high school is simply a stepping stone for getting a career. I already found my career—my music career is already taking off—I don't need to be held back by school. I mean, if you landed a Hollywood role wouldn't you focus on that?"

Trinity shook her head. "My acting days are over Allison—"

"I know, I know." Allison flips her hair back, and her expression became softer. "So…I heard Jamie ran into you."

Trinity sighed. "Yeah…"

"What happened?" Allison's blue eyes widened with curiosity.

"We were happy to see each other…he's still into me…but I wasn't into him."

She grimaced. "Oh…that sucks."

"It gets worse. John showed up and kissed me before I could Jamie I was dating again."

Allison inhaled sharply. "Shit."

Trinity moaned. "I know! I feel terrible."

Allison gives her a smile. "Hey, Jamie's tough, he'll be okay. It's not like he can ever hate you."

"That's what makes it worse—he's such a great guy…I care about him…but not the way he cares about me." Trinity realized that she wasn't making much sense.

"That's not your fault Trin—people change." Of course Allison understood her.

"Sometimes I wonder if dating John is a mistake…"

"Trin, you can't feel bad for moving on."

"I barely know John though…sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision."

"Do you still 'like' Jamie?"

"I care about him as a friend."

"Okay, is there someone else you 'like'?"

Trinity blushed. "…Of course not!"

"Chill. I'm trying to help."

"Sorry, it's just that…some people don't like me being with John…Dominic hates him. All the instructors are watching us like hawks. My new friends are warning me to be careful. And even though Kurt never says anything, he doesn't trust John."

"Are they dating John?"

"?...No."

"Then you shouldn't worry about them! This is your boyfriend. You can date whoever you like. Screw everyone else!"

Trinity smiled. "Thanks Daz. I got to go to therapy. Good luck with your concerts."

Allison smiled. "Thanks, I'll send you tickets when I play in New York! By the way, I wanted to ask you—" She then had a peculiar look on her face. "Trin, who's this?"

Trinity had felt someone at her door and turned around to see the student Ray. She recognized his purple and blue aura, but this was the first time she met him face to face. "That's Ray; he's a new student here." She turns to him. "Hi, I'm Trinity. You want to come in?"

He walks in. "Thanks, just trying to find the bathroom."

"The boys' bathroom is in the left building with the boys' rooms." She smiled as she remembered Kurt's joke. "But if you go down the hall, the girls' room is to your left."

He nods to Allison on the laptop. "Nice nose ring."

She smiled. "Thanks. I love your Mohawk, you should dye it blue—it'll go great with your eyes."

Trinity raised her brows at Allison; she already had a boyfriend, her agent, and she already flirting with one of her new classmates.

Ray nods as he leaves. "Thanks, I'll think about it."

Allison bit her lip as she grinned. "He's cute."

Trinity glared at the screen. "So is your boyfriend who got you all those concerts."

She rolled her eyes. "Rightttt. I miss you girl. Love ya'!"

"Love you too Dazzler."

Trinity shuts her computer and feels John approaching. She walks into the hall with a small smile and he greets her with another kiss. She asks. "What's up?"

"I just thought I should walk you to therapy and wait with you. Do you mind?" He plays with her locket as he stood over her.

Trinity grabs his hand, making him release the locket as she pulled him along.

They walk into the waiting room and see Xi'an wasn't there. John tugs her to Xavier's office. "Is he in?"

She shook her head. "He's in the basement…Xi'an's with Forge in the kitchen."

John grinned. "Want to sneak in?"

Trinity shook her head.

"Come on, I haven't been inside Xavier's office."

Trinity smirked. "Liar." But she went inside with him. John walks over to the bookshelf as he looks around. "How many books does this man have?"

Trinity scans the shelves. "I wonder if he read all of these."

"If he does, then we need to get him a new hobby." John jokes he shifts through a shelf of cd cases and shows her some floppy disks. "I didn't know these still existed."

Trinity giggled. "Put those back."

John laughs as he pushes her against the shelf with his body. "Make me."

Before she could say anything, John captures her mouth with his own. She doesn't notice as John puts back the floppy disk to grab one labeled **Security** as he shoves it into his pocket. She did notice when the Professor's aura was getting closer. She broke their kiss and pulled John out of the room. She was blushing a dark red as she tried to fix her hair.

John laughed. "So, I'm guessing we won't be doing that again?"

She allows herself to smirk. "Maybe,"

She puts her hands behind her back as the professor entered. He sees them and apologizes. "I'm sorry Trinity, but we will have to reschedule our session for tomorrow, we have a new student who will be here in a moment."

"Who?" John asked, but he didn't feel curious to Trinity—he felt excited.

The professor explains. "Jean told me her name is Marian Stockholme, she seems to be a Gamma-level mutant and I'm afraid she has been through quite a ordeal with the Brotherhood. So we all need to be careful with how we act around Marian, also skin-to-skin contact is forbidden due to her mutation."

John smiled. "Sure thing prof., how about me and Trin help her get situated when she gets here?"

The professor looked surprised, but smiled. "That is very kind of you John, thank you."

John grabs Trinity's hand and pulled her out of the room. She inquires. "Why do you want to greet her?" He usually kept to himself.

He smirked at her. "You've been a good influence on me, beside, you would be a great friend to her since you both been rescued from intense situations."

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "You're sweeter than you think John."

He grinned. "Sure I am."

* * *

Rogue sat in a chair as the Professor asked her the same questions as the X-Men did and told her that she was safe with them. She nodded and acted like the pathetic damsel to the point Xavier gazed at her with pity and empathy. He continues. "Marian, I am a telepath; I can read people's minds and help with mental issues in a person's psyche. If you'll let me, I can help you sort through the memories you've obtained—"

"No!" Rogue felt panic fill her, but she puts it off as, "I don't want another person in my head! Please!"

The professor puts a hand over her gloved one, making her flinch in surprise. "Don't worry Marian, I would never intrude on your mind without your permission. Now, would like our help? Would you like to stay?"

Marian looks up at Scott like she needed his guidance, and he nodded for her to continue. She had them eating out the palm of her hand. "Y-yes, please, I want to figure out my powers…I don't want to run anymore."

The professor takes away his hand. "You can stay as long as you like. Again, I am sorry for what happened with Logan, he would never intentionally have done that to you—"

"It's alright sir…I did attack him with my-my powers. I just hope he'll be okay. Besides, if ya'll didn't save me, then I'd probably be a hostage to those terrorists."

The professor smiles at her warmly. "Mansi will show you to your room, and around the Institute."

Rogue stands up. "Thank you—thank ya so much." She tells them as she leaves.

She finds Mansi was waiting for her. She was an ordinary looking mutant and showed her around the Institute cheerfully. Rogue inquired about her powers and was shocked when Mansi told her she didn't have any. Rogue knew that Moira MacTaggart was a human, but she didn't realized there was another human living at the Institute. Mansi, an ordinary soccer mom, wasn't even bothered by mutants…a bit of a surprise for her. Mansi dropped her off at her room, and told her that she would bring her back some pajamas for the night and would take her shopping in the morning for some new clothes.

Rogue walked into her room and looked around curiously. She had her own room. That would make her mission so much easier. She sighed in pure content. She completed the first phase of the plan. She peeked into the hallway and saw a couple walk toward her. She saw it was Pyro, and he was walking with a girl with plum-brown eyes. Rogue approached them; happy that her teammate finally met up with her.

Pyro smiled. "Hey! Welcome to our school Marian."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm Trinity Leonardo," The girl tells her. "And this is John. If there's anything you need just ask us."

Rogue nods. "Thank you."

Trinity stared at her for a moment with a sympathizing gaze. Rogue wondered if this was one of the Leonardos her mother tried to recruit.

John speaks up. "Hope you like it here Marian," He grinned at her as his eyes glint excitedly. "See you at dinner?"

"Sure thing." Marian smiles back at her accomplice; the second phase was now in progress.

* * *

Allie ran down to the clinic with Dominic. They had ran into Mr. Cassidy and asked how the mission went. He amused the children and told them they all got out of the scrape fine. But when they asked about Logan, he frowned. Allie panicked and ran down to the basement where the clinic was. Dominic followed her quickly, trying to stop her.

Allie ran into the clinic and stopped dead in her tracks. Moira was setting up an IV for Logan as Jean sat next to him and held his hand. He was unconscious, with a bunch of wires and bloodied bandages on him. Allie's lip trembled. She never thought Logan could get this hurt…he looked a lot like Trin did when she was in the hospital. Allie slowly approached the bed and started crying. Logan would never get hurt like this—something was terribly wrong. Jean and Moira noticed her.

"Allie!" Dominic came in and stopped when he saw Logan. He finally approached his sister and tried to lead her out of the room, but she shook him off.

"Is he going to be okay?" Allie whimpered.

Jean looked over at Moira, like she needed to know too. Moira bit her lip. "He lost a lot of blood and his healing factor is finally starting to work…we just need to keep him over night."

"Is he going to be okay!" Allie cried. "Why isn't his healing factor working!"

"Allie, he'll be okay." Jean told her.

Dominic tried to pull his sister out of the room, but she pulled away from him and ran out of the clinic. Dom watched her run away. He then asked Moira. "What can I do to help?"

Moira gazed at the boy. "Dominic—"

"What can I do?" He demands.

Moira understood he needed to help. "Wash up. Get me some new gauze."

He nods and washed his hands thoroughly. He then grabs the gauze and helps Dr. MacTaggart.

* * *

Allie runs into someone, make that two someones. Kurt and Ms. Munroe.

Ororo knelt down in front of her. "Allie? What is wrong?"

Allie sobbed. "I saw Mr. Logan in the clinic. He's hurt bad Ms. Munroe."

Ororo peers at Kurt who looked as distressed as Allie. She turns her attention back to her. "He'll be alright Allie—"

"But his healing factor stalled and he lost a lot of blood. Trin lost a lot of blood when she fell and the doctors told mommy and daddy that she was going to die…" Allie's sobs heaved her body.

Kurt kneels down next to Ororo and listens to the girl's worries:

"And—and I never saw Mr. Logan that hurt before…and…what if it happened to one of you? And—and you don't have healing factors."

Ororo holds Allie's face gently. "Shh, I know it is scary Allie, but you cannot give into your fears like this."

"I know…but Trin was hurt so bad…and now Mr. Logan is hurt…I don't want to see anyone else hurt!" Allie covered her green eyes as they flowed with tears.

Kurt interrupts her crying. "Haschen." She peeks through her fingers to listen to him as he continues. "You don't have to worry about Logan—he is a fast healer, ja?"

Allie nods and sniffs. "Yeah."

"And Trinity survived the fall, ja?"

"Yes." Allie wiped up her face with the back of her hand.

Kurt gives her a smile. "We X-Men are very resilient Allie. You don't have to worry about us leaving anytime soon."

Allie gazed at them. "Promise?"

Kurt takes a breath and answers. "I cannot promise everything Allie, but I promise, when we get back from a mission, you'll be the first person we see to let you know we are alright."

Allie looks at Ororo. "Really?"

Storm nods as she wipes off some of Allie's tears. "I promise little one."

Allie gives a hopeful smile and sniffles again as she rubbed her eyes. As she walks passed them, she embraced both of them quickly before running off again.

Ororo watched her go and saw Kurt's eyes watered. He cleared his throat and stood up. And he teleported before she could see him tear up. She sighed…as kind and brave as Kurt was…he was still an innocent boy. She thought about what Allie said and felt her heart lurch painfully. "Goddess," she prayed. "Please, do not take any of them away from me too soon…" She gulps a breath and hurries down the stairs to see Logan.

* * *

Kenneth saw the Danger Room control room door was open and walked in. He saw his uncle was talking to the new student. Mansi told him that his name was Berzerker, and his new name was Ray. Kenneth watched as Leon's hands glowed with the familiar orange energy. They started sparking with electricity and the energy sparked and formed into a sphere, which Leon threw at a practice dummy.

He nods to Berzerker to try.

Ray concentrated as he created sparks in his right hand. He never tried to create an electric sphere before, let alone throw one. He tried though. And ended up making his ball of electricity explode and strands of electricity danced along the walls. Leon watched and nods. "Good job."

"Good job?" Ray raised his brows in shock. "I couldn't even make a ball."

"Yeah, I knew you couldn't." Leon told him.

Kenneth stifled a laugh; classic Leon.

Ray's brow furrowed. "What? Then why did you have me do this exercise!"

Leon smirked. "To see what you can do, and how far you're willing to go to prove yourself."

"I wasn't trying to prove myself." Berzerker scoffed. "I just wanted to learn a new move."

Leon chuckled. "Okay. Whatever you say Ray." He walks out of the Danger Room. "Come on, dinner is probably ready, and my nephew wants to use the room for a bit."

Ray looks around and finally sees Kenneth was in the control room. Kenneth waves to him and he nods back. He asks Leon. "How did you know he was there?"

"I'm a father, if I can't tell when my own kids are snooping on me, then I fail as a parent."

Kenneth smiled and set up a sequence, like Leon and Forge taught him. He goes down and sits down as a holograph of a danger room session was created. It was the most recent video of his father training with the X-Men. He watched as his father dodge lasers and leapt over obstacles. He smiled as he helped Ororo up and got her away from laser fire, only to be nicked by a laser. Cyclops comes over to check on them and scolds Thunderbird for being careless. Thunderbird simply argued with him. Kenneth read his lips:

"Listen one-eye, sometimes you need to take risks instead of notice them."

Kenneth chuckled as he watched his father. "Right, dad. You're always right."

* * *

Kendra was reading Twyla's email about how everything was going with a smile:

_**Ken,**_

_**I know you would prefer handwritten letters, but I am tech-girl, so email is the next best thing right? Uncle Jim came over. It was great. Did you know he knows Ironman? So cool right? I managed to do a few steps in my grandma's crutches to surprise my uncle. I'm still waiting for my new crutches! I've been practicing so much so I could impress him.**_

Kendra's smile turned into a frown.

_**I manage to take a couple of steps—and I twisted my ankle on the sixth step. I know you're probably freaking out like my grandparents and Jim, but I'm fine. Everyone flipped out about it that my grandparents are making me wait on practicing until my ankle fully heals. I'm not going to give up though! Don't think that for a second. JK, you're one of the only people who believe I can actually do this. That's why I love you Ken! **_

_**Enough about me, how're you and everyone else? Are your cousins doing alright? Is Fleur being spoiled more than usual by other adults? How is Kenneth? How are you? Please answer quickly; I miss you!**_

_**Love,**_

_**Twyla**_

Kendra smiled again, but she still felt worried and replied:

_**Dear Twyla,**_

_**You are right; I am freaking out. How does your ankle feel now? I'm sorry for worrying, but you're my best friend Twyla. The Watson to my Holmes remember? Well, we stopped saying that when we realized how many fans shipped them as a couple. But as you know they are a great couple. I hope my ramblings are getting a laugh, but you are the comedic one in our friendship. Kenneth loves it here. Everyone is spoiling Fleur, but she is such a sweetie we can't help it. It's great seeing everyone again. Dominic really likes it here, and so does Allie. Dominic loves the tech. here as well as some of the bachelorette teachers. He's doing great with his powers. Allie is loving it here too, she has become friends with a lot of the teachers and students. Rahne, her, and me like to hang out and play with the X-pets (Allie came up with that name, not me). She even follows around Logan—which is a shock because he's pretty stand-offish, but that doesn't stop Allie. Aunt Ororo dotes on her a lot, and Kurt treats her like a little sister he always wanted. No, I'm not jealous. It's awesome that I get to spend with my mentors. Trin is still having some trouble adjusting, but everyone loves her. If you knew Trin, you would instantly like her. Believe it or not, she was a great social butterfly. She's changed though, but now she has a boyfriend. You're wondering about my opinion on this…well, I think it's too soon for her to get into a relationship, but if it's helping then I support it. I'm happy here. I spend a lot of time in the garden Aunt Ororo and my mom created, and I've been sketching the flowers there. There's a few new students here. Piotr is from Russia, he's pretty tall and intimidating at a first glance, but he's very sweet and loves to paint. I've been showing him around, but I can tell he misses his family and home. I miss Texas and you. But, we are going to go to Arizona in late October to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, and we'll stop by Texas to visit afterwards. I'm excited, I love the Day of the Dead. Luckily, we get to stay here for Halloween and then fly out to Arizona.**_

_**I miss you too,**_

_**Kendra**_

Kendra shuts off her email account, and goes off to dinner. She sees Berzerker and Leon in the dining room. She was surprised how many new students were joining the Institute. Leon noticed her and introduces her to the boy. "Ray, this is my niece Kendra."

Ray nods to her. "Hey."

"Hello." She shyly smiled. She asked her uncle. "Where were you?"

"Danger Room, I was teaching Ray some new maneuvers he could use with his powers."

Kendra felt surprised; this was the first time in a while Leon had been in the Danger Room—training no less. She grinned. "That's wonderful."

Leon stands up to get himself seconds from the kitchen. Kendra worked against her shyness and asked Ray. "How do you like it here?"

Ray shrugs. "Too soon to tell, but it's like being in the White House or something."

"It's surreal." Kendra summarized.

He nods. "How long have you been here?"

"It's hard to say, I've visiting the mansion ever since I was born. This is another visit, but we're going to stay for at least a year."

Ray takes a bite of food and mumbled. "Sorry, but this Mansi is a good cook. She's your aunt right?"

"Yes."

"Do your parents stay here too?"

Kendra takes a drink before answering. "They're dead."

Ray looks up at her and doesn't say anything. He finally mutters. "Sorry, should've known."

"This may sound grim, but a lot of us are orphans here. It's alright. Xavier has become a father figure for so many of us."

He watched her. "Sounds nice, but I've given up on the whole nuclear family crap a long time ago. You're lucky."

"I don't believe in luck." She tells him.

"Yeah you do." He points to her rosary on her wrist. "You're a Christian."

"Doesn't mean I believe in luck, just a God and a messiah."

"Same thing to me."

She smiles as she continues eating. "After a year here, you would start believing in the craziest of things. Speaking of crazy, my uncle hasn't set foot in the Danger Room while we were here until you came along. Thank you."

"What's that word you used again?"

"Surreal."

"Yeah, this place is definitely surreal." He takes another drink. "I think I'm gonna like it here."

* * *

Dinner was interesting. Trinity was surprised that John actually stayed to eat in the dining room. He talked with Bobby and had Marian sit with them. It was nice seeing John so welcoming to Marian. She really felt for her, she went through a similar experience with the MRD and Sabretooth, now she was safe. Trinity saw her uncle took a liking to Ray, who was pretty quiet and only talked to Kendra. When Dominic and Sammy came to dinner, he started to talk with them. He was pretty comfortable with Sammy, which was good. Leon introduced himself to Marian:

"Hello Marian, I'm Leon Lafayette, one of the new instructors here. You need anything don't be afraid to ask me or my wife Mansi."

Marian looked surprised. "You're married to Mansi?"

"Yep."

"Aren't you a mutant?" Marian asked. This made the room quieter as some students tried to listen in.

"Yep." Leon tells her. "We also have a beautiful little girl. Her name is Fleur."

Marian looked astonished, and Trinity noticed her emotions were shocked. She must have had a terrible experience with human and mutant relations…poor girl.

Kenneth comes into the dining hall with Allie. Trinity saw her eyes were red and she had a bit of sadness in her. "Allie what's wrong?"

Allie ignores her and asks her brother. "Is he better Dom?"

Dominic felt nervous and sad. "Yeah he's better." He lied.

Trinity felt sick and noticed the Professor, Jean, Scott, Wolverine, Ororo, Moira, Sean, or Kurt weren't in the dining room. She was so focused on herself that she didn't realize someone was hurt and asked. "Who's hurt?"

Dominic tells her. "Logan, but he's getting better."

Allie sits down and stared at her plate. "That's good."

Kenneth puts an arm around her and gives her a hug. Trinity saw how upset her sister was. Why she notice? Why couldn't she even tell Logan was in pain. She felt it now.

She gets up and Kenneth gets up and goes into the kitchen so she could sit beside her sister. "You okay?"

Allie nods.

Trinity felt guilty…she couldn't tell that her sister or brother were upset. She looks at her brother; his face was impassive, but he felt scared. She then noticed that she wasn't the only one who felt guilty; Marian felt remorseful about something…did she know what happened? When she looked at her, Marian's green-grey eyes glanced into hers until she turned away. Her aura…it was strange…it was multiple colors that mixed until she had a white aura…it didn't make sense. Leon goes over to Dominic and asks. "Hey, me and Kenneth were thinking about playing some laser tag with Forge and Betsy. Want to join?"

Dominic smiled and asked Sammy. "You game?"

Sammy smirked. "Yeah."

Trinity was glad her uncle was helping Dominic, and as if on cue, Mansi came in and picks up Allie. Allie squealed in surprise as Mansi lifts her up and dropped her to the floor. Allie turned around questionably. Mansi smiled at her. "Want to help me frost the cupcakes?" By frost, she always meant eat half the icing while frosting.

Allie nods happily, past worries gone for the moment as she followed her tìa into the kitchen. Trinity saw everyone was done with dinner and she sat back down and finished the rest of her food. John wanted to go fool around, but she told him she was tired and he went off. She watched Marian leave and wondered if she should ask about Logan. No, Marian had been through enough.

* * *

Dominic walked with Sammy to get on some tennis shoes for the game and saw Marian. He stopped her. "Hey!"

She jumped and turned toward him nervously.

Dom didn't hold out his hand because he knew about the skin-to-skin thing. "I'm Dominic." She was hot, and her hair was pretty cool with the two streaks of white.

"Marian." She smiled. "Are you Trinity's brother?"

"And Allie's." He then asked. "Do you want to play laser tag with us?"

"Sorry, Dominic, but it's been a long day." She was actually up for it, but she had to play her part.

"Oh, okay," He turns away in embarrassment.

She smiled and called. "But thanks for offering sugah." She goes into her room quickly.

Dominic smiled; she called him 'sugar', must be a southern thing.

Sammy snickered. "I knew you liked chicks with exotic hair."

"No I don't." Dom snipped.

His friend runs a hand over his fin. "Yeah right, what about Betsy? Ms. Munroe? Now the new girl with white streaks. You don't have a crush on Lorna do you?"

Dom gives his friend a playful shove. "Shut up."

"Come on, if Bobby could score her—you have a chance." Sammy joked, earning another shove.

Dominic finally tells him. "I thought of a codename…"

"What is it?" Sammy asked. "Come on, it has to be better than Squidboy."

He explains. "Invincible."

Sammy nods as he thinks about it. "Simple, describes you well without being cheesy. When did you come up with it?"

"When I was helping Moira bandage up Logan."

Sammy stared at his friend, but Dominic kept walking; keeping his hazel eyes straight ahead.

* * *

Trinity slowly goes down the stairs toward the basement. She sensed that Jean and Moira were down in the clinic with Logan. Sean was down there, but went to bed. Scott was with the professor. Ororo was asleep. And Kurt—

A burst of sulfur behind her almost made Trinity fall down the stairs in surprise. "Ah!"

Kurt's tail catches her waist and he pulls her back. "Careful liebchen!"

Trinity managed to keep her emotions in check and held onto Kurt's arms that kept her from tumbling down the stairs. "Thanks."

She turned around and saw Kurt's black eye, which was literally black due to his indigo fur. "How'd you get that?" She asked; feeling concern.

He shrugs the question off. "It's just love tap from Mystique."

"It's a black eye." Trinity told him grimly.

Kurt sighed. "It's nothing. Why are you going down to the clinic?"

She looked down the stairs. "To check on Logan and Jean."

"That's very kind, but you don't have to—"

"I didn't even notice he was in pain!" She snapped, eyes flashing black. "I didn't notice how upset my sister and brother were." She turned away and took a few steps. "What's wrong with me? I couldn't tell you were all back…My powers…it's like an on and off switch…either I sense everything or nothing…"

Kurt catches up with her. "Trin, you're not going to master your powers in one week. These things take time. Believe it or not, I was not always great at teleporting."

"I don't have time Kurt, if I ever want to go home again I need to master my powers now…" She stops and scoffs. "Listen to me…still frickin' thinking about myself when Logan is…" She feels his pain and winced. "He's not on morphine…is he?"

"No, it doesn't work because of his healing factor." He explains.

Trinity shuts her eyes and nods.

Kurt takes her arm and walks with her. "If you feel like it's too much you have to leave."

"I'll be fine." Trinity told him. "Thanks for worrying though."

Kurt smirked at her. "Never been thanked for that before."

She smiled back, until they were at the end of the stairs and making their way toward the clinic. They walked in slowly. Trinity grimaced as Logan's pain hit her. Her eyes watered, but she blocked the emotions from her own like the professor and Jean taught her. Jean looked up at them, she had been sitting beside Logan this whole time. "Trinity! What are you doing here?"

"To check on you and Logan."

Jean watched her. "Trinity, you should go, we can't take any chances that Logan's pain could affect you—"

"I've been through worse Jean." Trinity told her, she lets go of Kurt's arm and approached Logan. Was she still scared of him? Yes, because of how similar they were. Right now, she was worried about him. She saw the bloodied bandages…she remembered their training session this morning…it seemed like days ago when he was barking orders at her how long to run through the forest what tree to climb with weights on her arms and legs.

Her hand shakily reached out and touched his hand. If he was conscious she would have never have done this. "How is he?"

"Most of his wounds healed…he's healing so slowly and the pain is disorientating for him." Jean told her…she felt upset and heart broken.

Kurt also felt guilt and sadness.

Trinity focused on Logan's pain and remembered all the times she transferred her own pain onto others…she wondered if she could do the opposite. If she canceled out the pain, then maybe Logan could heal faster without his body working against the pain it could focus on healing…

She gripped his hand and saw the fiery and dark emotions of pain. It began to shift toward her and she felt the sweat break out of her skin as she felt the sharp pain of being shot. She finally took all the pain and her body convulsed from the shock. She lets go of Logan and stumbled down. She clenched her jaw to keep from screaming as she wrapped her arms around herself to keep the pain in…

Kurt and Jean stooped over her. And suddenly Moira. Trinity saw she had dropped her coffee in astonishment. Trinity shook, but kept her mouth closed so she wouldn't scream as they tried to get her attention. Trinity couldn't hold all the pain in…it was like she was taking more and more pain from Logan—the transfer of pain wasn't stopping. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her body shut down to deal with the sudden pain overload.

Trinity opened her eyes and groaned…the pain disappeared…and she felt hollow. She noticed Moira, Leon, Jean, Xavier, Kurt, Scott, and Logan surrounded her.

The adults watched her as they sighed in relief. Kurt even crossed himself and whispered a prayer in German. Logan was watching her closely—

Logan! She saw his wounds were healed, but the scars remained as they slowly started to disappear. She stared at him in astonishment. It worked! He glared down at her with his intense blue eyes. "Kid. What were you thinking?"

Trinity saw everyone else looked upset, but they also felt relieved. She sat up and was surprised that all the pain disappeared. "Um…" She started, but fell silent as she watched Logan. "How are you feeling?"

Logan's nostrils flared. "Kid, you almost went into shock, and fainted—giving everyone here a heart attack as you held in the pain of dozen of bullet wounds, and you're wondering if I'm okay?"

Trinity felt scared and latched onto the closest person near her—Moira. Moira holds onto her and scolds him. "Logan…"

Trinity sensed he felt better. "You're right. You do feel better. I'm glad I could do that. It'll come in handy later—"

"No!" Everyone in the room argued.

Moira turns the girl to face her. "Lass, you could've had terrible nerve damage from that. You've been out for two hours."

Scott adds. "Moira's right; that stunt was too risky Trinity."

Jean and the professor were checking her telepathy and Jean told her. "You can't do that ever again. Your psyche can't take so much pain at once."

"Yes, also, your powers could have sent the pain to everyone here. It is not a maneuver you should ever do Trinitia." The professor gave her a stern look.

Trinity peered at Kurt and Leon. "You two haven't said anything."

Leon helps her off the clinic bed. "All I have to say is that they're right. I don't want to see you down here as a patient ever again."

Trinity nods. Kurt puts an arm around her. "I'll teleport her to her room. Logan, maybe you should sit down and stop hovering over Trinity." He teased.

Trinity noticed that Logan was hovering and watching her. She noticed…he actually was worried. She smiled. "Glad to see you're feeling better."

He simply snorts at her. "No thanks to you kid."

They teleport out. They finally make it to her room. Trinity rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment. "I was fine. I wasn't hurt you know…"

Kurt's eyes seemed to glow in the dark and he gazed at her to see if she was telling the truth. "I'm just glad you're alright, liebling."

He walks away and she asks. "That's a new name. What does it mean?"

Kurt turns to her and smiled. "Gute Nacht, Trinity." He teleports away.

She smiled. "Good night." She was about to go into her room when she felt someone…John? _That's weird. Why is he on the girl's side…is he waiting for me?_ She thought as she followed the aura and stopped in front of Marian's room. Trinity sensed he was in there with her…she check her phone…it was midnight…what was he doing in there? _Is he…no, he can't. Marian can't touch anyone, but why he is in there and why do I feel emotions of excitement…_ The door suddenly opened as John rushed out, but he stopped when he saw Trinity. "Trinity! What are doing here?!" He asked apprehensively. He was nervous and felt on edge…like she caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

Trinity stared at him and wondered the same thing about him. "You first." She told him; she wanted an answer. "Why were you in Marian's room John? And remember, I can tell when you're lying."

John's nervous grin disappeared as he stared at her coolly. She returned his gaze coldly as her heart thumped faster and faster. Maybe she didn't want to know.

* * *

**Author's notes: Yay! Rogue has infiltrated the mansion!**

**Brother: "That's nice...we always encourage children to do that kind of stuff."**

**"Thank you for helping edit!"**

**Brother continues playing on tablet. "There's a monkey chasing me right now. So please leave a message after the beep."**

**"BEEP!"**

**"You don't have to cuss at me!" :(**

**"Wimp. So what do you think of Berzerker?"**

**"I like him."**

**"That's it?"**

**"He's a good character."**

**"Yeah, me and my brother grew up watching X-Men Evolution, so we thought Berzerker was a big character, so we added him to this and he's a great character to connect the Morlocks to our storyline. What do you think of Rogue?"**

**"She's mysterious..."**

**"Well, she is a spy. And what of John?"**

**"Jerk."**

**"Wow you really don't like him."**

**"Not at all."**

**"Do you think Trinity takes too many risks?"**

**"Sometimes."**

**"You're very talkative this evening."**

**"WHAT!"**

**"What?"**

**"Nothing I was talking to myself."**

**"Stop it! I'm the crazy one. Not you! ****I'm excited, John took the security disk. That scamp."**

**"I still hate him."**

**"The audience already knows this! Move on!"**

**"Ok. Is Dazzler ever going to tell Trinity about her powers. I mean, we all know she probably has them."**

**"Patience brother!"**

**"What about Beast? When is he going to be here."**

**"Next chapter actually. Btw should we have a popularity vote of our oc's?"**

**"If you want to...actually yeah we should. Dom would win."**

**"He is pretty awesome-"**

**"Make the pole! Do it!"**

**"We don't own Marvel. Thank you for r&r:**

**Nyx811- Thank you for reviewing and letting us know your feelings on updates. :)**

**I know it's probably too soon to tell, but what the hell, we'll have a popularity contest of oc's."**

**"Bye bye audience!"**


	21. Chapter 19: Visits

**Author's note/apology:**

**Taliym5: Hey guys...okay I know it's been a long time. Two months...crap. I apologize for not updating or letting you know this chapter would be late. I ran into a rough patch in my life and had a hard time writing again. It actually affected my school work and I was spending every waking moment trying to catch up. I'm fine. My mind was just all over the place and I was bit down and sad. If it wasn't for my family and friends this chapter would probably be 3 months late. Here's my random advice; let people you care about know you care. That's all I have to say.**

**Brother walks in: "Can I come in now?"**

**"Sigh. Sure."**

**Brother: "I like this chapter, and I can't wait for the next one! Also, I saw two votes on the popularity poll. Only 1 for Dom? For shame."**

**:} (Cheshire cat grin) "Actually that was my vote."**

**"You can't vote! You're breaking the rules! No frozen yogurt for you!"**

**"I WILL HAVE MY YOGURT! Okay, reviews:**

**Bmmr: Yeah, there's about a dozen different ways to spell Anna, Ana, Annah...there's so many! Thank you for trying to help me with my spelling though. Seeing that a certain brother never helps with editing..."**

**"You're seriously complaining about me?"**

**"You never help me with editing! I don't realize when I mix up tenses or make a freaking spelling mistake!"**

**"Well that's your fault. Reviews...again:"**

**"No,no, I do reviews: **

**Anonymous: I apologize for delayed updates...especially when you gave me the triple update review. I am sorry. **

**Guest: I apologize again for not updating soon enough. And knowing that you love this story makes me happy! :)"**

**"Makes me happy on the inside."**

**"Thank you for your patience and please r&r! Don't hesitate to criticize!"**

**"As long as it is constructive and won't make her cry. Remember, I have to live with this crazy woman audience. I don't deal with tears."**

**:)**

* * *

Trinity waited for an answer impatiently. "What were you doing in Marian's room?"

John scrutinized her then scoffed. "I can't believe this—you think I was getting it on with her? The girl can't even touch anyone—"

"I just want to know what you were doing! I never said you were cheating on me!" She snapped.

"I don't need to tell you all my business." John snaps back. "So get used to it."

Trinity glared at him and stormed off. "Fine, get used to being single while you're at it."

"You're kidding me!" John barked, he grabbed her arm. "Trinity. You're going to break up with me over this? Just because you're jealous?"

She glared at him. "No, it's because you're keeping secrets from me. I already get that from my parents—I don't want it from you."

"You don't trust me?"

"No! It's not about that—for once, I want someone not to keep any secrets from me." She pulled her arm away from him.

John rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to tell you everything about what I do Trinity—no one will."

She scoffed and was going to walk off, but he grabs onto once more. "Hold on." He sighed. "You want the truth?"

Trinity stares at him and nods.

"The truth is…I went through something similar to Marian…I was chased by the damn police because my powers went out of control and I burned some empty buildings down…I thought I could help Marian out."

Trinity felt he was lying about the Marian thing…but his resentment toward the people who chased him was there… "What are you hiding John?"

He scoffed. "Nothing!"

She felt he was lying. She shook her head. "You're lying." She rushed into her room and slammed the door. She listened and heard him snort and walk away in frustration. She focused on Marian…she felt nervous and curious…did she hear what they were talking about?

She locked her door and stomped over to her bed. She sees the Bamf doll, and picks it up. She hugs it tightly like a little kid. She then crawled onto the bed and curled her body around the stuffed animal. _I won't cry over this. I will not stay up worrying about this…I will go to sleep and deal with this tomorrow…tomorrow._

* * *

Dominic woke up and yawned…laser tag was freakin' awesome. He never thought the Danger Room would be such an awesome laser tag lair. He goes over to his laptop. He checks his email. He smiled as he read an email from his grandparents telling him how much they missed him. His mom let him know Cara was starting a new day care today and she took a picture of his baby sister for him. Cara wore a blue sundress and flip-flops, and she dark bags under her eyes…

He looked for any emails from his dad…none. He was about to shut his laptop in frustration, but he received another email. He grinned when he saw it was from his uncle Hank. He reads it quickly:

_**Dear Dominic,**_

_**I decided that I would pay you all a visit during my sojourn from work. I will come bearing gifts for you and your family. I will be at Xavier's Institute by this afternoon.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Uncle Hank**_

Dominic cheered as he raced over to his dresser and pulled on a fresh shirt. Sammy wakes up. "What's up?"

"My uncle Hank is coming over this afternoon!"

"Isn't he the big guy with the glasses?"

"Yep. He's freakin' awesome Sammy, he's a scientist and classic literature professor at a university. He also was an assistant coach for the football team."

"He sounds cool…what's his mutation?"

"He was hands for feet…it's actually pretty cool."

"It's better than having a dorsal fin."

"But you have a B.A.M.F. dorsal fin."

"I never knew you could describe a dorsal fin as BAMF."

"You're welcome."

"I never thanked you."

"You didn't?"

Sammy snorts a laugh. "Dude just go get breakfast so I can sleep."

"Alright grumpy gills." Dom laughs as Sammy throws a pillow at him good-naturedly. He runs into Amara who was walking down to breakfast. "'Morning Amara!"

"Good morning Dominic, I see Sammy is too lazy to go to breakfast." She smiled smugly.

"Not all of us can rise with the sun Amara."

"Yes you can; you're just too lazy. Actually, you are up pretty early…why?" She peers at him with her brown eyes curiously.

"I found out my uncle is coming for a visit."

"That's nice, what's his name?"

"Hank McCoy."

"Beast?" She looked excited. "He's the strongest and smartest original X-Man!"

"He was?"

"Of course he was Dominic!"

"Ok, ok, I'll take your word for it. He's been good friends with my Uncle Leon and mom for years. He's actually my God-father."

"Interesting." Amara nods, when they make it to the dining room where platters of pancakes and eggs awaited them. Dom sees his older sister was drinking a mug of coffee and her back was to John, who instead of sitting with her, was at the end of the table talking to Bobby. Dom raised a brow and sat across from Trinity. "Mornin'." He greets.

Trinity peered at him while moving her hair out of her eyes. "Hey."

He sees her eyes were black. "Uh…you okay?"

Trinity shrugged. "Yeah, why'd you ask?"

"Well—uh, your eyes."

Trinity's eyes widened as she grabbed a spoon and examined herself. She shrieked in frustration and threw the spoon down. She shoves herself away from the table, and marched away.

Dom asked nervously—wishing he'd kept his mouth shut: "Hey, where are you going?"

"To my first session—I don't care if I'm freakin' early!" She marched out the door; her cheeks red from anger and shame.

Dom heard snickering and turned to see a smirking John. Dom scowled at him. "What're you laughing at?" He wished Trin would dump the jerk.

John shrugged. "Just her dramatics." Bobby looked uncomfortable as he glared at John to keep quiet.

Dom narrowed his eyes at him. "So what did you do?"

John raised his brows. "Nothin'—your sister is just being paranoid."

He glared at him. "Why? She probably has a good reason."

John snorts and grinned at Bobby, who was acting like he was too busy eating his pancakes. "Looks like paranoia runs in the family—they get it from their mum, right?"

Dom stood up. "What did you do John?" He asked again—feeling his anger boil beneath his skin.

John's smile widened. He wanted to see how far he could go till Dominic snapped—Dom saw it before with every jar-head bully he came across. Well, he'd give John what he wanted.

Amara snipped at Dominic. "Sit down." He ignored her, and only focused on John's next words.

John stood and leaned over the table to face him. "Look paranoia isn't a bad thing—I mean just look at your mother—she was too paranoid to send you here because you might get hurt—oh wait, you all were chased down either way, weren't you?"

Dominic tightened his hands into fists.

Bobby finally spoke up. "John, that's not funny."

John chuckled. "You know something kid, your mum is right—this big bad world is a dangerous place. But hiding from it won't make the bad guys go away—that's why your little sister is screwed—"

"John, shut up." Bobby told him.

Dom gritted his teeth together as his heart rate increased with his rage.

John puts up a finger to Bobby. "Hold on, you see 'Dom', you should be paranoid. I mean, if you aren't, you'll end up getting killed…like Trin's friend and that aunt of yours—"

Bobby shoved at John's shoulder. "Hey, that's enough, man!"

John laughed. "What? If he keeps on believing 'mutants are safe', then he'll be the first to go, right? I mean we can't trust humans to accept us with open arms—just look at what happened to Marisol—she believed she was safe until an anti-mutant psycho mauled her down—that was the last mistake she ever made, right 'Dom'—"

BAM!

Dom threw his fist into John's face. Before he could get another shot, Amara grabbed his arms and pulled him back. When John tried to attack him, Bobby held him back while shouting. "Cut it out now!"

Dom was dragging Amara with him, but he was stopped by new arms. He turned around and saw it was Kenneth. Dom stopped moving as his cousin barked. "What the hell is going on?!"

John shook Bobby off him as he rubbed at the bruise forming on his cheek. "Care to tell him about it, kid?" He gives Dom a grin—knowing that Dominic wouldn't bring up the conversation about Marisol to her own son.

Dom pulled away from Amara and Kenneth. "It's nothing…right Pyromaniac?"

Pyro grinned darkly. "Yeah, nothing big—there's no need to go crying to Leon." He holds Dominic's glare with his own.

Dominic nodded, and quickly left the room.

Amara sighed and followed him. Kenneth turned to John. He folded his arms. "Nothing huh?"

John shrugged. "Want to make something of it?"

Kenneth shook his head. "Just stay away from my cousin." He marched out.

Bobby sighed. "John…why the hell did you frickin' do that!?"

John scoffed. "What? I was just telling the truth."

* * *

Trinity rushed up to Jean's room—she was only half an hour early…well, Jean did say she could see her anytime about her powers. Right now, she managed to turn off feeling everyone, so she could keep herself under control. She saw the door was open and quickly pushed it open. "Jean—" Trinity stopped and sucked in her words with a gasp.

Jean was in Logan's arms…and they were making out passionately. They instantly stopped when they heard Trinity.

"S-sorry," Trinity backed away nervously as she suddenly felt the passion die and emotions of shock was flooding the room. She runs away before they could say anything. She heard Jean and Logan call her, but she ran faster—she did not want to deal with this! She turns and sees Logan was following her. "Kid!"

She ignored him and ran through a door slammed it into Logan's face. She then locked it and saw she was on some stairs…she felt Kurt was near, and raced upstairs to his room. She knocked on his door frantically as she heard Logan knock and say. "Kid, I just want to talk—come on!"

Kurt suddenly opened his door and sees Trinity's frantic state. "Trin?"

"Please hide me!" She begged.

He gives her a look, but lets her in and shuts the door. "What's going on?"

Trinity folded her arms uncomfortably. "I just don't want to see anyone!"

Kurt watched her and asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I-I don't know…" She looked around the room anxiously. "I don't what to do—who I should tell. Ugh! It's all so messed up."

Kurt tilts his head at her in concern. There was suddenly a knock at the door. "Kid." Logan called.

Trinity's black eyes widened as she stared at Kurt desperately.

Kurt turned to the door. "Trinity's outside. I teleported her to the garden, mein freund. Is she trying to skip your training session? I can't blame her." He lied.

Logan sighed. "Right Elf, if you see her, let her know I want to talk to her." They heard Logan's steps recede and the door open and closed.

Trinity sighed in relief. Kurt motioned to a recliner. "You can sit down if you want, Trin."

She sits down in the chair and leaned her elbows against her knees. "Thanks."

Kurt sits on the arm of the chair and asked. "So why are you hiding, fraulein?"

Trinity peered at him. "Can you…can you keep a secret?"

Kurt shook his head. "Nein."

Trinity's face fell, but Kurt grimaced. "Sorry, too soon for a joke?"

Trinity raised a brow. "Ja, Kurt."

Kurt smiled at her apologetically. "I can keep the secret, liebling."

Trinity rubbed her temples, and finally told Kurt everything that happened, added how she always felt strange and heated feelings between Logan and Jean, how shocked and upset she was, and how this would crush Scott. "I-I don't know if I should tell Scott…I can't! But Jean is his fiancé…and—ugh! I don't know what to do!" She whined.

Kurt was frowning and knotting his tail anxiously. This was going too far.

Trinity sensed his feelings. "Wait…has this happened before?!"

Kurt sighed. "Ja…"

Trinity looked at her hands. "Does Scott know?"

"I don't know…" He admits.

"But he's your leader!" Trinity argued. "He's getting married to Jean—don't you think he should know the truth!"

Kurt peered at her sympathetically. "If only it was that simple. If anyone should tell him though, it should be Logan and Jean."

Trinity sighed and agreed. "You're right…I just can't believe I saw that!" She groaned in disgust. "I don't want to talk to Jean and Logan about it, that's for sure."

"Well, feel free to hide out in my room if you wish."

Trinity smiled at him. "You sure?"

Kurt nods. "Why not? I was about to watch a movie anyway."

Trinity peered at his desk and smirked. "You own The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone?"

Kurt teleports over to the desk and rifled through the pile of DVDs and VHSs. He picks up a VHS and shows it to her. "But of course."

* * *

Dominic rushed downstairs, forgetting about his fight with John, and sat in the hallway to wait for his uncle Hank. Kendra joined him. She sits next to her cousin quietly, and finally whispered to him. "Kenneth will be hear soon with Leon; they're busy training with Ray."

"Cool." Dominic sees her hands were smudged with blue water color. "Were you painting with Piotr again?"

She smiled timidly. "Yes, we went to the roof and painted the forest."

Dominic nods. "Nice. How's Twyla?"

Kendra frowned. "She hurt herself while walking, but she wants to try the crutches again. I'm proud of her and I want her to be able to walk, but I want to be there…"

"Yeah. I just heard from mom that she's enrolling Cara into a new daycare…Today is her first day. I wish I was there for that."

"How is she?"

Dominic bit his lip. "Tired…nervous…but good. Mom is the same, but she's just worried about us." His face darkened when he remembered his fight with John…the bastard.

Kendra watched him. "I heard about the fight—"

"Don't want to talk about it."

"You should not fight Dom. It's dangerous, especially with our powers."

"You sound like Amara—except she shouted her lecture at me."

"Well she is your Hermione, Potter. And Sammy is your Ron."

He turned to her in confusion and saw her dry smirk. He laughed. "You're still a Potter fan?"

"You can never stop being a Potter fan. Or a Sherlock Holmes fan. Or an Edgar Allen Poe fan."

"Well if I'm Harry, then who are you?"

"Luna Lovegood—you know I'm a Ravenclaw. You're a Slytherin remember?"

"And yet I'm Harry?"

"The sorting hat was going to place him in Slytherin." She pointed out. "Besides Slytherins aren't all bad."

"Right. What was Allie?"

"Gryffindor. Just like Kenneth and Aunt Mansi. Tia Meg and Trinity are Hufflepuffs. Cara is Ravenclaw. Leon is Slytherin too."

"By any chance, did you manage to sort which house I would be in?"

Kendra and Dominic turned and jumped to their feet when they heard the familiar voice. "Uncle Hank!"

Hank McCoy laughed as he was tackled by his niece and nephew. "Well, I am glad you're happy to see me. Is this because I mentioned that I come with gifts." He shows them two large bags.

Dominic smirked. "Maybe—" He was interrupted by a screaming girl:

"UNCLE HANK!" Allie hopped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you! I missed you!"

Hank chuckles as he held her. "I missed you as well Alicia. My stars and garters you are growing quiet tall."

"She's still a bean pole though." Leon joked as he walked into the foyer with Kenneth. Allie stuck her tongue out at Leon, but he takes her from Hank, pecks her on the cheek, and sets her down away from Hank. Leon embraced his old friend tightly. "How you doing old friend?"

"Splendid actually—I have so much to tell you about what I'm researching." Hank adjusted his wire-rim glasses as Kenneth gives him a silent hug.

Mansi rushed in with Fleur on her hip. "Hank, you're not here to steal Leon away are you?"

Hank smirked. "Always great to see you Mansi. You look exquisite." He pecks her on the cheek she offered him.

Mansi chortled as she switched Fleur to her other hip. "It's good to know motherhood hasn't run my looks down yet."

"Just her sanity." Leon joked.

Mansi grinned. "And yours." She smiled at her daughter. "Go on flower, say hello to your tio Hank."

Fleur was busy playing with her doll, but managed to glance at her uncle. "Hi."

Hank holds out one of his massive hands. Fleur takes the large hand and examines it until she shakes it. "It is wonderful to meet you Fleur."

Fleur lets go of his hand and grabs his glasses. "Mine!" She puts them onto her own face and giggled.

Mansi scolds. "No, no, that's tio's."

Hank squints his grey-blue eyes. "Not to worry." He gets out his second pair of large, round glasses.

Leon starts laughing. "Hank—you still have that pair? I remember when you wore those high school."

Hank raised his thick eyebrows. "They've always been reliable."

Leon shrugged. "True, remember when we took them apart and used them as lock picks—"

"Yes, I remember that being your idea. As clever as it was, I still had to get these fixed."

"Alright. Let's move this into the living room." Mansi leads them all into the family room.

Trinity suddenly enters. "Uncle Hank!"

Hank gives her a gentle hug. "Trinitia! How are you my dear?"

Trinity smiled happily. "Better."

They all sat on the couch and conversed about what has gone on. Hank was excited about the new football players for the fall, his class was overflowing with new students, and his research was going well. When Leon asked about his research, Hank waved the question away with an "I will explain it to you and the Professor later." He finally got to the gifts. "I decided to bring some 'mansion-warming gifts'." He gets out some red rubber oven mitts and gave them to Mansi. She tried them on and grinned. "Thanks Hank."

He gets out a football and hands it over to Kenneth. "Here you are Kenneth, a football for you to practice with."

Kenneth threw it into the air and caught with a large grin. "Thanks."

Hank suddenly pulled out a large textbook. Everyone paled. "This is for Kendra."

Kendra clapped her hands happily and took the book happily. "The complete collection of Victorian art and literature! Thank you so much tio!"

Allie and Dominic peered at each other to whisper. "Nerds."

Hank gives one bag to Dominic. "For you Dominic, I found one of our old lab computers. The parts are in great shape and I know how much you love to experiment with computers."

Dominic smiled at the gold mine that was in the bag. "Thanks tio!"

Allie peered at the junk and rolled her eyes.

"And for you Allie…"

Allie smiled nervously. "You didn't have to get me anything uncle…heh."

Hank gives her a rubix cube. Allie squealed in excitement. "I always wanted one of these! Dom has a bunch but he never lets me play with them."

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Because your hands are always greasy."

Allie sniffed. "Shut up Dom." She began playing with her new toy happily.

Hank gets out a book and gives it to Trinity. "This was my copy of _A Midsummer's Night Dream_.It has all of my notes inside. I know how much you love Shakespeare's comedies."

Trinity held it close to her and grinned. "Thank you!"

Hank then gets out a stuffed animal, a monkey, and gives it to Fleur. Fleur giggled as she put Hank's glasses onto it.

Hank pulled a rectangular box out of the bag. "For Leon." Hank hands him a chess board.

Leon grinned. As he opened the board and began setting up the pieces.

Hank raised a brow. "You want to play now?"

Leon moved a pawn and gave a nod.

Hank moved his own pawn. The game began between the two geniuses.

* * *

Trinity soon left to go upstairs for her therapy session. When she made it upstairs she felt Jean close in. "Trinity!"

Trinity kept walking and Jean caught up with her. "Trinity, I need to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about, Jean." Trinity sweetly said, avoiding eye contact. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a therapy meeting with the professor." She shoves open the door and they see Xi'an talking on the phone. "—Yes Mrs. Guthrie—yes, I will tell him. No, Sam arriving earlier than expected is no trouble. Yes, I understand, if you need anything contact us. Goodbye ma'am."

Xi'an hangs up the phone. "That was Mrs. Guthrie. Sam will be arriving in a couple of days. A truckload of boys tried to run him down at a local gas station."

"Is Sam okay?!" Trinity felt her heart rate quicken.

"Yes, he used his powers to move out of the way, and the local police made an arrest after his stepfather convinced them to do so. Though mutant-hate crimes seem to go unnoticed in that town…" She saw Trinity's expression and backpedaled. "But he'll be fine, Trinity."

Trinity nods. "Is the professor ready for me?"

Miss Coy-Mahn smiled. "Of course, go on in."

Jean adds. "I'll wait for you out here Trinity."

Trinity inwardly grimaced and went into the Professor's office.

Xi'an peered at Jean. "What is going on?"

Jean bit her lip. "Nothing." She was pacing.

She tilted her head suspiciously. "Did something happen in training?"

Jean shook her head. "Xi'an, I'm sorry but this is personal."

Her brown eyes widened. "Is this a Logan problem?"

Jean peered at her anxiously.

"Dieu! She caught you two—Jean!" She hissed.

"I know. I know." Jean rubbed her temples.

Xi'an glared at her. "Tell me you two weren't—"

"No. And we never have—or will." Jean sat down. "God, Xi'an, I really messed up."

"Yes, you have." She agreed. "Jean…please do not burden her with that secret—"

"I would never do that." She snapped irritably.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I don't know…"

* * *

Trinity sat in her chair as she pet Darwin's wiry fur, who placed his head on her knee, but she kept her eyes focused on the professor.

"Trinity, I would like to ask you about Sophie." The professor kept his eyes focused on her as he examined her reaction.

Trinity's hand stopped as she tensed up.

Darwin sensed the change and lifted his head off of Trinity's lap. He trots over to his bed and sat down to watch.

"Why?" Trinity whispered as she tried not to let on how felt.

Professor Xavier continues. "Tell me what happened."

Trinity took a deep breath and said. "Sophie died because she traded her probability with mine. I was supposed to" Her voice cracked. "die, and she knew and still traded probabilities—she died my death." Trinity started to cry. She never had to explain it to someone else before. Saying made it…made it so hard for her to deal with.

"She was your friend."

"My best friend." Trinity explained.

"If you had a chance to say anything to her—"

"Don't." She sobbed. "Don't go there."

Professor Xavier stopped and let her cry it out.

Trinity wrapped her arms around herself as she cried. She missed Sophie. She missed her so much. Admitting that she was gone was terrible, but it was still a release for her. She still kept one explanation in though—her guilt. She would never let anyone know that she was a killer. Never.

Professor Xavier handed her a box of tissues and she took them. "Th-thank you—I'm s-sorry—I need to control-control myself—"

"It seems to me that you're bottling up your emotions."

Trinity raised her shoulders defensively. "Yeah…"

"Why?"

"…You saw what happened when I let my emotions out."

"Yes, but you have been bottling up your emotions before discovering your powers. When we talked about Marisol's death you mentioned how you never let anyone see how upset you were."

Trinity remembered, whenever she felt like crying she went into hiding. When her brother walked in, she threw a box of tissues at him and screamed at him to leave her alone. She was like a beast when her emotions were at their worst.

"Trinity, why hide your emotions?"

"Because they are dangerous." Trinity told him.

He gazed at her. "Why are they dangerous?"

"Because they hurt people. The people I love—I don't want my emotions to hurt them in any way. I did not want them to worry about me—so I hide to make it seem like I was okay. I did not want them to think there was something wrong with me…I just wanted things to go back to normal…"

"So you hid your emotions to move on instead of facing them?"

"Yes."

"Trinity you need to face and convey your emotions."

"Even if it's at the expense and safety of everyone else?" Trinity hissed at him darkly.

Before the Professor could respond, his phone rang. He sighed and picked it up. "Miss Coy-Mahn, I thought I made it clear that there can be no interruptions during my therapy sessions?"

"I am sorry Professor Xavier, but Black Eagle is on the line, it's very important sir." Xi'an's voice broke through the phone nervously.

"Please put him on." The Professor asked. He waits and then there was a deep voice on the other line, but Trinity couldn't hear what he was saying.

The professor listened and answered. "Yes, a projected nightmare is not unusual even in short intervals of sleep, like naps. Yes, I will come over for another session next week, though I strongly suggest your granddaughter should be moved here. My staff and I would be able to help Danielle much better if we—" He paused when there was a harsh response. "I understand. Goodbye Mr. Lonestar." He hangs up the phone, but before he could say anything, the telepathic energy signature appeared on his head and his grey eyes narrowed. "Trinity, I suggest you go on downstairs—"

Trinity had felt a stranger was near and was ascending the stairs. "Is there an intruder?!"

"No, everything is fine—"

Trinity heard Jean's voice angrily ring out behind the door, but she couldn't understand what she was saying, just that she was arguing with the stranger. Sean and Mansi were there as well and Mansi was livid.

The door suddenly opened, and a woman with straight platinum hair and icy blue eyes stood in the doorway. She wore pristine white designer clothes that matched her icy, pale beauty. Her aura was light blue edged with white. She was arrogant, poised, ambitious, and cold.

"Charles." The woman purred in an English dialect. She walked in, her heels clicking against the floor sharply. Darwin let out a low growl as she approached the desk. Trinity stayed in her chair anxiously—Darwin never growled like that, and everyone else were either angry, shocked, and/or wary.

Charles glowered up at her. "Miss Emma Frost."

Xi'an walked in as everyone else followed. "I am sorry Professor, she just barged in."

As she says this, Miss Frost peered at Trinity and was suddenly very interested in her. Trinity felt herself shrink under her gaze, like she could see right through her.

Mansi was suddenly in front of Trinity as she faced Miss Frost and snarled. "I can escort her out if you want me to." She was emitting emotions of anger and was on the defensive, like she was trying to protect Trinity from her.

"That won't be necessary Mansi," the professor told her.

Emma nods. "Yes, you can call your guard dog off me Charles." She threw Mansi a look. "And to be clear, I'm referring to you darling."

Mansi tensed. "Listen here you rich, uppity bit—"

"Mansi, I suggest you go back down and check on our guest." Charles told her gently.

Mansi finally moved and looked at her niece. She then shot Emma a glare. Emma raised her brows as she marched out and pulled Xi'an with her to follow.

Miss Frost chuckled. "Charles, your new maid has quite the…colorful vocabulary."

"I will only tell you once Emma, to respect Mansi,"

"Oh please, I'm not afraid of her."

Sean snorts. "It's not just her you should be worried about if you mess with her, Emma."

Emma grinned at him. "Sean, it's been a long time."

"It's good to see you again Emma." Sean greeted her coldly.

"Yes, I know." She sniffed. She then smiled down at Trinity like she was something good to eat. "Hello Trinitia, I'm Miss Frost."

Trinity nods. "Hello."

Emma gazed at her with the same smug smile. "My, my, you look a lot like your mother, but you are absolutely bursting with mutant potential. You know, empaths are very similar in talent to telepaths."

Jean was suddenly beside Trinity and she saw how angry Jean looked as she placed a hand on Trinity's shoulder. "What do you want Emma?" Jean hissed.

Emma glanced at Jean. "Oh, hello Jean. I see you are still as cynical as ever. Perhaps marriage could cure you of your contempt." She turned to Professor Xavier. "I am here because I heard you have been receiving many students as of late, so I came to help."

"How could you help?" Jean questioned.

Emma smirked her ruby red lips. "Jean, did you forget that I'm a level four telepath with skills that easily surpass yours?" Jean's aura flared with anger. "Also, I am the headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy. We offer the Hellfire Scholarship and program to mutants with mutated gifts. We teach students how to be the best they can be and how to excel."

"Even at other's expense." Sean muttered darkly.

Emma gave a short laugh. "Yes, we do not follow Xavier's belief that mutants should only learn how to control their abilities so they can 'fit in' with the human society. We believe that mutants should be able to excel no matter what or who disagrees with progress." She turned to Trinity. "I'm here to offer Trinitia and her siblings a chance to actually exceed with their powers."

Professor Xavier breaks in sternly. "We do not need to transfer students Emma, the Leonardos had already agreed to send Trinity and her siblings here."

"But Charles, you already have so many students here that it would be a crime for me to not take a few off your hands. Also, they were never informed of other opportunities like my school, hmm? Besides, you've been losing track of some runaways haven't you?"

Charles steeple his fingers together as he remained silent.

Emma focused on Trinity. "Trinitia darling, wouldn't you like to learn how to control your powers in only a week, or a couple of days? At my school we can help you control your powers in no time so you can return home to your family."

Trinity felt a chill go through her as she marveled at the temptation, but how did Miss Frost know she wanted to go home so badly? She would have felt her go through her mind, wouldn't she?

"Also I can actually keep you and your siblings safe in my school." Emma purred.

Trinity was hanging on those words.

"I can convince your mother to send your baby sister to this school as well. I can even have you and sisters share a dorm if you want."

Trinity shook her head; she felt like she was distracted and said. "My family and I chose to stay here."

"But did you choose to be attacked by Logan? Did you choose to be hunted down simply because you go to this school? Trinitia, did you choose for your brother to put his life in danger by going on an x-men mission?"

Trinity felt her anger and despair grow, but she kept it contained.

"That's enough Emma." Jean growled.

Emma's cold blue eyes flicked over to her. "Trinity you're worried that Jean is going to force you to keep her affair with Logan secret. How could your own mentor who you trusted ask you for such a thing?"

Trinity felt her face pale. How did she know—she was reading her mind! "Stop it." She whispered.

"Emma, you need to leave." Xavier ordered.

Emma's voice suddenly echoed inside Trinity's head. _You see how they try to control you. Don't they always tell you who to see, where to go? They convinced you that it's for your own good and you believe it. But deep down you know that there's something they're keeping from you. And that this imprisonment you are under is wrong. The teacher you respected is having an affair. You can't even trust your own boyfriend. You feel like you're being lied to again, just like your parents have done to you your whole life. They've kept secrets from you and lied. You hide your feelings not just because you're afraid of hurting others—you're afraid that they can hurt you. You feel as though you can't trust anyone—_

Trinity felt her anger explode as she jumped up and shouted. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Emma stumbled back as the onslaught of emotions hit her.

Trinity felt that she lost control and brought her emotions back in and collapsed into her chair. She covered her face and chanted. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that…"

Emma shook her head and smiled. "No Trinitia, you were simply being who you were: powerful. There is nothing wrong with this—" She was suddenly pushed back and toward the door by an invisible force; Jean had used her telekinesis to throw her back.

Jean pointed to the door—ire framing her face. "Get out."

Charles Xavier adds. "Sean, could you show Miss Frost out?" His brows were low over his eyes.

Emma glared at them. "I believe I can show myself out." She grabbed a card from her pocket, but it was suddenly ripped into a million pieces by Jean's telekinesis. Miss Frost scowled at her, and told Trinity. "Don't you see? If you want to discuss anything, then I suggest you contact my school. Our doors are always open to you and your family."

She marched out into the waiting room only to run into Mansi, Leon, Hank, and Betsy. Xi'an sat at her desk typing, but she was keeping a close eye on them.

Emma smirked as her sight zeroed in on Betsy. "Elizabeth, how is my prized pupil?"

Betsy glowered at her. "Ex-pupil. I simply came up here to make sure you weren't causing any trouble."

Emma chortled. "You were always my best student, but don't pride yourself that your telepathy could even surpass my own."

Betsy shook her head. "You're still trying to recruit mutant soldiers for your Hellfire club?"

Emma sniffed. "Harsh talk for someone whose father is a member. From the shocked, blank look on everyone's face I assume you haven't told them about how I tutored you after you left STRIKE."

Betsy smirked darkly. "They don't. But the professor and x-men do. So you can stop trying to turn them against me. Now you can piss off."

Emma smirked back and walked. "You were also one of my biggest disappoints."

Trinity listened to all of this from the professor's office. She then walked out into the waiting room. Mansi hugged her. "You okay honey?"

"Yeah." Trinity muttered. She turned around to see Jean was standing next to her.

Jean gazed at her sympathetically. "Trinity, I'm sorry—"

Trinity shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She thought aloud. _I'm not mad at you. I trust you. Thank for trying to help me out back there._

Jean nods, getting the message, and Trinity felt her guilt and relief.

Trinity walked out of the room and avoided making any eye contact with Leon. He watched her go, and then peered at Jean questionably.

Trinity passed Scott and Ororo on the stairs, and almost jumped when Scott asked her: "Trinity?"

She bit her lip. "Yeah?"

"Is Hank in the Professor's office?"

"Yeah, he's still here." Trinity then rushed downstairs before he could ask her anything else.

* * *

Kurt flipped over another obstacle and landed perfectly. He then grabbed his water bottle and took a drink as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Elf?"

Kurt jumped and teleported across the room in surprise. He thought he was alone, not even Forge was in the Danger Room today. He saw Logan was in his leather jacket and was carrying a rucksack. He was also glaring Kurt down as he chewed on an unlit cigar. "You seem jumpy Elf, something on your mind?"

"Nein." Kurt smiled. _Crap, he knows._

"So, funny thing happened. I went to go look for Trinity, she wasn't in the garden."

"Really? She must've run off—"

"Cut the crap Elf, I knew she was in your room the entire time." Logan snarled. "I was just thinking that you would be a man and tell me the truth."

Kurt sighed as he stretched out his arms. "Don't take it personally Logan—"

"Well when someone lies to my face it tends to piss me off."

"Trinity needed some space—"

"You hid her from me and then lied about it. Just to be clear, we are friends aren't we? You never lied to me before, until now."

Kurt glowered at him. "You and Jean never tried anything or were caught until now."

Logan stared at him and remained silent.

Kurt shut his eyes. "Logan, you need to stop this. We all ignored it because we thought it was harmless, but this heated affair is going to tear this team apart."

"It was never an affair. This was the first time anything happened Elf."

Kurt stared at him. "I'm sorry for lying to you, but what were you going to say to Trinity?"

"That's my business."

Kurt shook his head. "It became mine."

"Never thought a girl would come between us." Logan joked darkly.

"And I thought I told bad jokes." Kurt chuckled. He stopped when he noticed the rucksack was full. "Where are you going?"

Logan looked up at the ceiling as if he would find the answer there. "I need to take a trip. Jeanie needs some space."

"You're doing it again, just like with Heather."

"When the hell did I tell you about Heather?"

"Last year when I drove you home from the bar. You tend to spill all your secrets to me when you are drunk. You said it was her birthday that night."

Logan nods. "Probably why I was out. Listen, this would be best for everyone. If I'm gone, Jeanie can marry Scott with no problems."

"But when will you come back?"

…Logan chewed on the cigar. "I don't know."

"This isn't a good idea Logan."

"It worked with Heather—"

"Ja. But you never went back to Department H."

"I'm coming back Elf."

"What about Dominic and Allie?"

"What about them?"

"Don't pretend that you don't care about them."

Logan shoulder the rucksack. "They're better off without me too."

"That's not true mein freund. At least say goodbye to them."

"Maybe if I run into them I would. It would be best if I left without tipping the whole school off."

"Aw yes you like making a big entrance, but not a dramatic exit…or is it because you are terrified of what Ororo would say?"

Logan chuckled and held out his hand. "See you later Elf."

Kurt took his hand. "I'll miss you too. Be careful out there…maybe a trip could help clear your head, ja?"

Logan gave his hand a shake and gave him a nod before letting go. "You take care of yourself too…keep an eye on those kids—not just that girl."

Kurt's face turned purple and he cursed at him in German before muttering. "It's not like that at all."

Logan walked upstairs and made it to the garage door, but stopped when he heard a little girl's voice squeal. "Logan! Logan!"

He turned around and sees Allie running up to him. She finally stopped and smiled up at him. "Hey, you got to meet my uncle Hank—well, you already know him, but he's going to play some catch with me and Kenneth—so, would like to play with us?"

Logan chewed on the cigar again. "No half-pint, I have to head out."

"Where are you going?"

"Uh…" He looked away from her eyes, which were burning into him.

"When will you be back?" She asked, her green eyes gazing at him anxiously.

"I don't know half-pint," He saw her face fall.

Allie slowly looked down at her shoes. "O-okay."

Logan watched her and she suddenly hugged him. Before he could say anything, she let go and ran away. He watched her race up the stairs and pass Trinity. Trinity turned to look at her and then looked back at him. She then ran after her sister.

* * *

Allie burst into her room and threw herself on her bed; burying her face into her pillow.

Trinity suddenly came in; worried. "Allie, what's wrong?"

"Lrgn isph sleavn!" She whined into her pillow.

Trinity sat down on the bed next to her. "What?" She could feel Allie's despair, and it was scaring her.

Allie lifted up her face and wailed. "Logan's leaving." Trinity saw the tears leaking out of her eyes.

Trinity knew why she was so upset—it was just like dad leaving for work. Allie would fall apart and lay in her bed… Trinity gets up and rushed out of the room. She jumped down the steps two at a time. She finally made it through the garage door as Logan was starting his bike. She ran up to him and grabbed onto his shoulder before he could leave. His aura burst with surprise as he turned to face the intruder, but calmed down when he saw it was only Trinity.

She wasted no time. "Where the hell are you going?!" She was not in the mood to be kind and patient with him.

He turned the engine off and shrugged her hand off. "What did you just say?"

She was in no mood to be afraid of him either. "Why are you leaving?"

He watched her through squinted eyes. "It's none of your business kid—"

"My sister is crying upstairs—you made it my business." She marched in stood in front of the bike. "Why are you leaving?"

Logan doesn't answer and was trying to steer the bike away from her so he could start it up again.

Trinity's hands lashed out and she gripped the handles. "No. No running away, you're going to frickin' answer me!"

Logan leaned toward her and snarled. "This isn't the time to get in my way kid."

Trinity shoved her face into his. "This isn't the damn time to abandon my brother and sister. Why?"

Logan blinked in astonishment at her aggression. He then got off the bike and faced her. "You would know why I'm leaving if you didn't hide in the Elf's room from me."

Trinity narrowed her eyes, which were black. "So that's why. You're running away because of what happened?"

"I ain't running away." He growled.

Trinity squared her shoulders. "Then what are you doing about this?"

Logan looked down at her with his blue eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to keep my mouth shut about you and Jean, because if anyone should tell Scott the truth it's you two." She spat. "I'm also going to make sure that you're staying here."

Logan raised a brow. "Why do you care whether or not I stay?"

She felt the anger course through her, but she kept her voice below shouting. "Because my brother and sister look up to you. You're the reason they feel so safe here. I'm not going to let you just leave them behind—they get enough of that from my father."

Logan shook his head. "I have to go. Don't try to stop me." He gets on his bike.

Trinity walks in front of him to block him once more. "Don't you care about them?! They frickin' adore you! They look up to you—and you're just throwing that away!"

He glared at her. "They shouldn't be looking up to me—I'm no hero. They'll be fine without me. Now get out of my way kid."

Trinity felt her anger hit its peak as she glared at him. "Screw you." She hissed slowly and she marched into the house. She stopped at the doorway to tell him. "You know something—I looked up to you too." She went through the door and slammed it behind her.

Logan sighed and started his bike. It roared to life, and he drove out of the garage and down the driveway.

* * *

Allie continued crying. She peeked from her pillow and saw someone was watching her. She sat up and faced the door angrily. "Go away!" She threw her pillow at the person who dared to spy on her. The pillow hit Marian in the face, but she caught it. She stared at Allie—unsure what to do.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Marian tried to explain as she went in and set the pillow on Allie's bed.

Allie rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "Yeah you did—you were spying on me."

Marian ran a gloved hand through her hair nervously. "It was because I heard crying…what's wrong surgah?"

Allie sniffled. "Logan's leaving."

Marian's eyes sparked with interest. "For a mission?"

"No. He's just leaving…" Allie tugged on her black curls absently. "I don't know when he's coming back…"

"Well…it should be soon right?" Marian wanted more information.

"I don't know…" Allie brought her knees to her chest.

Marian suddenly felt bad for the little girl. "Why…why are you so upset?"

"I'm not!—I…" Allie was trying to argue, but sighed. "It's just that my dad would leave just like that…I wouldn't where he's going or when he would come back…and—and I would just really miss him!" Her voice broke and she threw her face back into her pillow.

Marian stood there awkwardly—not sure what to do._ Come on Ana, _she thought to herself. _Your mission was to get close to the X-Students…_

She placed a hand on Allie's back carefully and gave her some soothing pats. "I'm sorry…"

Allie turned and looked up at her; her large green eyes looking surprised but appreciative. "Hey…it's not your fault." She sat up and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I'm okay…do you—do you want to come play catch with me?"

Marian was surprised by the offer. "Well—uh, I can't really play any sports 'cause of my mutation—"

"Don't worry about it! Catch is the best non-contact game to play." Allie slid off her bed and motioned her to follow. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Marian finally gave in. "Sure, why not?"

Allie grinned and skipped out of her room. Marian followed her. They both run into Trinity at the top of the stairs. Allie grabbed onto her sister's hand. "Come on Trin—we're going to play catch with Uncle Hank!"

Trinity examined her sister with black eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better." Allie then hopped down each step.

Trinity watched her go, and Marian decided it was time for her to help Pyro, since he told her about the fight he had with Trinity they both agreed it would be best if she fixed it. They both needed to stay close to the X-Students and X-Men and couldn't afford any animosity between members.

Trinity turned toward Marian—black obscuring the whites of her eyes. Marian stared at the bizarre eyes—perplexed, but said. "Look, about John. He was only telling me about the institute and stuff last night."

Trinity analyzed her distrustfully.

Marian knew she could tell if she was lying and chose her words carefully. "There's nothin' romantic goin' on Trinity. No matter how much I want a relationship—I can't kiss a boy without putting him into a coma…"

Trinity's face changed into one of pity.

Marian continued. "Also, I would never be interested in John—he ain't my type—I only have a thing for brunettes." _Why did I add that?_ She thought to herself. Oh yeah, she was trying to be convincing.

Trinity bit her lip. "Thank you for being honest with me Marian…I'm sorry for not trusting you."

Marian smiled. "No problem Trinity." She followed her outside; relieved it worked.

* * *

Kenneth stretched his arms with Dominic and Hernando. Dominic didn't bother stretching and yawned. "Why even bother Kenny?"

Kenneth picked up his new football and tossed it in the air only to catch it. "We're playing with Leon, Hank, and Forge—do you want to pull a muscle?"

Dominic shrugged. "Come on, how hard could it be?"

"Coming from someone who never played a sport in his life?" Kenneth asked skeptically.

Dominic stuck his tongue out at him.

Hernando laughed. "You never played a sport."

"I played!...Well not on a team." Dominic admitted.

Hernando flexed his fingers. "Well, I am bound to be the best at this game."

"Having sticky fingers doesn't make you a good catcher." A voice teased. The boys turn around and see Rahne had made the quip. She trots up to them with Piotr in tow. "Besides, you have to actually throw the ball Hernando."

Hernando grinned. "Don't worry about me, mi Corazon."

Rahne rolled her eyes. "Can't ye' flirt with someone else?"

"But you're such a great 'catch'." Hernando smiled happily.

Rahne grimaced at the horrible pick-up line. "Ach, when will he stop?"

Kenneth nods to Piotr. "I bet you have a good arm Piotr."

The tall youth shrugged. "I would not know—I never threw an American football before."

Dominic smirked. "Well at least I'm not the only one."

Rahne stretched her arms and asked. "Who else is playing?"

"Well Allie and Trin should be out here soon, Lorna is dragging Bobby over as we speak, and there's Sofia." He points to Sofia who was flying toward the field with her winds.

Lorna and Bobby soon run onto the field. Bobby walked up to Dominic. "Hey Dom."

Dom shot him a look that was anything but friendly. "Hey." He walks away from him and over to Sofia and Lorna.

"What was that about?" Hernando asked Bobby.

Bobby sighed. "He and John got into a fight."

"And you took John's side?" Hernando shook his head and tssked.

Rahne questioned. "Why were they fighting?"

Kenneth turned his attention to Bobby. "Yeah, what were they fighting about?"

Bobby cleared his throat nervously. "Just John shooting his mouth off…you know."

* * *

Dominic walks over to Lorna and Sofia quickly. Sofia smiled at him. "Hello Dominic."

"Hey Sofia, ready to play?"

Sofia shrugged. "It's just a game of catch right?"

Lorna laughs. "Knowing Mr. Lafayette, it's going to turn into a psychological exercise of some sort."

"That sounds like him." Someone adds. They all turned around and saw it was Ray.

Dom nods to him. "You playing?"

"Why not? Mansi forced me to go play. Is she always so controlling? No offense."

"Yes she is, and you should probably get used to it." Dominic explained.

Lorna smiled. "I think she's very sweet—she reminds me of my Mum."

"Mum?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah, I have two moms, so I call one Mamma and the other Mum." Lorna watched Dominic's reaction closely as she explained.

Dominic understood. "Oh yeah, so were you conceived by Mum or Mamma?"

Lorna relaxed. "Neither, I was adopted. My Mum's name is Sidney Dane and Mama's name is Mary Zimmerman Dane. I also have an older sister named Zala."

"Zala?"

Lorna ties her green curls into a ponytail. "Don't ask. She's on an expedition in Antarctica actually, with her research group."

"Is that the group that has that famous zoologist Shanna O'Hara?" Sofia asked.

"And her fiancé Kevin Plunder." Lorna explained. "Zala told me how she was dreading sharing a cabin with them, though she is having a bit of a romance with her explorer Kirk Marston." She giggles with Sofia about this, but Ray and Dominic shrug indifferently. Dominic suddenly heard a motorcycle, and turned to see Logan was driving toward the gate. He noticed the bag on his back. Dom jogs toward him and then bent his legs. With a sonic blast he soared through the air and stumbled into a landing next to Logan who passed him. Logan stopped his bike and shouted. "You alright Nic?"

He gets up and dusts the dirt off. "Yeah, where are you going?"

Logan looked up at the sky. "For a trip. Listen Nic, do me a favor and watch out for your little sister, alright?"

Dominic nods and he shoved his hands into his pockets—trying to act like he didn't care Logan was leaving. "Okay…you are coming back soon, right?"

Logan sighed. "As soon as I can." He then speeds off and through the gate.

* * *

Jean watched Logan leave from her window. She folds her arms—fingers digging into her arms. She was not going to cry…she should be glad…

Jean suddenly noticed her picture frames were levitating off her desk. She gasped in frustration and forced her telekinesis to cease. She sighed as the frames dropped back onto her desk. Jean rubbed her temples as hundreds of thoughts began to echo inside her head. She concentrated to block them out…it was like she was hearing every thought in New York. "Ah…shut—shut up!" She screamed. The voices stopped but something shattered. Jean opened her eyes and saw she made her lamp explode accidently. She looked down at her hands…her body had a fiery aura around it…and she was floating a foot off the ground. This only happened when she felt really upset—her powers would surge…they would surge so much that she would feel like a god…like life incarnate. The fiery aura disappeared and she was able to calm down. When her feet finally touched the ground, there was a knock on her door.

"Jean?" Scott's voice asked behind the door. "Are you alright?"

Jean had avoided him in the professor's office out of guilt, but she needed him now. She opens the door and embraced her fiancé.

"Jean! What's—" He noticed the shattered lamp. "It happened again."

Jean looked up at him. "Yes."

"We should get you to the professor."

"I'm fine now Scott…it just happens…just like Trinity…" She murmured.

Scott kissed her forehead and hugged her. "I worry about you sometimes…"

"I'm fine." She told him…it wasn't like the surges would hurt her—actually they made her feel powerful…and a small part of her loved it.

* * *

Dominic ran after him and stopped at the gate. He watched as Logan raced away down the road. He finally jogged back to the field and saw Allie, Trinity, and Marian were there. He stared at Marian. She wore jeans and a thin see-through shirt with long sleeves that shimmered in the sunlight. Under the shirt she wore a tight tank top. She tightened the gloves on her hands—unaware of Dominic staring at her. Hernando then ruined his moment. "You like what you see?"

"Shut it." Dominic told him. Hank threw the football in a perfect spiral to Leon, who jumped in the air and caught it, only to beam it to Kenneth. Kenny caught the football easily and threw it to Ray.

Hernando grinned. "You should try talking to her."

"She wouldn't be interested, she's older than Trin—" Dominic saw Ray caught the football perfectly, but he threw it like a ten year old to Lorna. She caught it and chucked it at Bobby.

Hernando shrugged. "Age is but a number—if you like her, go for it—YOLO."

"YOLO? Seriously, I just think she's hot; that's all." Bobby almost dropped the ball, but made up for it by throwing it into the air. Sofia flew up and caught it, and beamed it toward Marian while shouting. "Catch it!"

Marian leapt into the air and caught the football, and she spun around and threw it toward Dominic so quickly that he didn't have time to catch it. The ball flew over his head.

Hernando lifted up his hand and the ball stuck onto to his hand. "Got it." He tried to throw it to Rahne, but the ball was stuck on his hand.

Dominic sighed and grabbed onto the football. "On three." He told him. "One, two—Three." He pulled the football off his hand quickly and there was ripping sound like Velcro.

"OW!" Hernando whined and fell to his knees. "Ay! You took some of skin off! Ouch!"

Dominic sheepishly smirked. "My bad." He then threw the ball to Rahne. She almost dropped it, but then tossed it to Allie. Trinity came over. "You alright Hernando?"

Hernando showed her his hand. "Kiss it and make it better?"

Trinity giggled and shook her head at him. Allie threw the football to Piotr. He tried to catch it but drops it. He picks it up and threw it toward Dominic. The football went through the air like a missile and it was too high for anyone to catch.

Dominic ran backwards keeping an eye on the ball. "I got it!" He leapt 10 ft. into the air with a sonic boom. He grabbed the football and fell back to the ground. He got onto his feet and showed off his victory. "Haha! Good throw Piotr!" He throws the football to Trinity, which fell short of reaching her. Dominic groaned and doubled over. "You got to be kidding me."

Trinity picks up the ball and throws it to Forge.

* * *

Trinity walked in with everyone to dinner. Their game of catch was fun. She felt John was around the corner and she went to the left as everyone turned right toward the dining room. She sees John was waiting for her. She crossed her arms and faced him. "Look, Marian talked to me about last night. And I'm…sorry for overreacting. There's a chance I have some trust issues…"

"So are we alright?" He asked her; face indifferent.

Trinity got on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Yeah." She then grabbed his hand and dragged him along to the dining room. "By the way, where were you today?"

"You want the truth?"

"That would be nice, yeah."

John smirked. "I was meeting up with an old friend, and then I ran into Jamie Madrox."

Trinity examined him and saw he was telling the truth. "You ran into Jamie? How is he?"

John shrugged. "He's alright—he threatened me to treat you right."

Trinity blushed. "He didn't."

"He did." John laughed at her expression. "He's still into you."

"…Yeah, I know." Trinity grumbled; becoming downcast.

"Hey don't worry about it—that guy is 'a dime a dozen'." He laughs about this madly.

Trinity glared at him. "John, Jamie is a good guy."

He stops laughing. "Ah, just ignore me Trinity; I'm just crazy about you."

Trinity smiled at the compliment and gave his hand a squeeze. "I feel the same about you."

* * *

After dinner, Hank was in the clinic with all of the adults except for Mansi, Betsy, Kurt, and of course Logan.

Leon laughs from his perch on the clinic counter with Hank. "Moira, what happened when you walked in to see the chemical mess on the ground that Meg and Hank made?"

"Ach! It looked like a baking soda volcano exploded down here." Moira laughed with Sean's arm around her shoulders.

"How did this happen?" Ororo asked.

Hank explained while moving his hands. "Well, I was completing an experiment to show Meg how to light a dollar bill on fire without burning the money—which I learned from you." He motioned to Leon.

Leon shrugged. "Your first mistake is trying to copy my tricks."

Hank continues. "I asked her to hand me the acid. So she handed me the container and I poured the acid—all of a sudden, the water reacted by foaming up pink bubbles. We later discovered I had incorrectly labeled the container previously. The look on Dr. MacTaggart's face was priceless."

Everyone laughed at this. Sean opened the fridge. He removed some beers and passed it around. Even the professor took a beer.

Xi'an was surprised. "You drink professor?"

"I was quite the drinker in my university days." He explained as he took a sip.

"That's how we met." Moira adds. "Geneticists who were bored with the Genetics convention minibar and wanted to have some fun at a local pub."

"You were in secondary school with a fake id." The professor remembered.

"The id was for the convention. I was old enough to drink." She explained to Sean.

"Alright, alright," Forge announced. "Hank has a new experiment to tell us about—and I want to hear about it." He sits on the clinic bed between Ororo and Xi'an to listen.

Hank stood tall. "As you all know, I've been experimenting with mutant genetics. I know have been secretive about this. I'm not even working with anyone else on this. I've discovered a way to suppress the X-gene to safer more dormant levels."

The room went silent.

Scott tilts his head in shock. "I'm sorry, what?"

Jean breaks in. "Hank, are you saying you found a way to get rid of someone's mutation?"

"No Jean, one can never fully suppress or destroy the mutant gene. I found a way to decrease the influence—the power—of harmful mutations. Like Trinity and Cara's mutations. Also, hearing about Marian—never being able to touch anyone due to her mutation. If I test my serum I could help them—help any mutant with life-inhibiting mutations."

The room remained silent as everyone looked at each other.

The professor finally speaks. "Henry. I do believe you had the right intentions starting this experiment, but if this falls into the wrong hands—people could use your serum to detain mutants—contain their powers to make them easily conquerable."

Hank shook his head. "No professor, I would never let my serum be used for such purposes."

"Hank, it's already happening. Professor Xavier is right, if the MRD or any anti-mutant organization got your formula they can turn it into a weapon." Scott clarified.

Hank scoffed; exasperated. "The serum is a depressant that will help mutants deal with their mutations. Trinity would be able to be around people and be herself without worrying about emotionally scarring them or being emotionally overwhelmed. Cara would be able to actually sleep without being bombarded with multiple visions of the future. Marian would be able to touch someone."

"Sounds like you've been really progressive with this. Remember how dangerous that is, and what happened to Dr. Frankenstein, Professor McCoy." Leon told his friend.

Hank rolled his eyes. "Dr. Frankenstein is a fictional character who tried to play God and ended up becoming a selfish and insane shell of a man because he was trying to bring the dead to life. I am trying to help mutants—not just myself. In other words Leon, your comparison is invalid."

"But that's your opinion—biased opinion that is." Forge argued.

"I wrote a twenty page thesis on the analysis of _Frankenstein_ and the dangers of industrial progress—we can do this all night." Hank countered.

Ororo stood up and faced Hank. "I agree with Leon, sometimes miracles can easily turn into monsters. Sometimes good intentions can be turned against us."

Hank sighed. "I am trying to help!"

Sean placed a hand on his shoulder. "We know you are, but we can't have something like this out to the public…it's too dangerous right now."

Moira adds. "Hank, why don't you bring over your work and I can analyze it to see if there is any real danger to it."

Hank finally nods. "Thank you doctor." He yawned. "I suppose I should start my commute back to my apartment."

"You're welcome to stay here Henry." The professor offered.

Hank shook his head. "Thank you professor Xavier, but I really need to head home."

Jean quickly adds. "Hank, this weekend we're taking the children to Stark Tower for a tour. We would love it if you join us."

He gives a small smile. "I'll be there." He walks passed the professor quickly and out the door.

* * *

Graydon Creed was escorted inside by a officer. He was flown and driven here by the officer and blindfolded a few times—but now the wait was over. They finally make it to Colonel Stryker's office. Stryker was just about to walk out with a file under his arm, but stopped when he saw Creed. He analyzed him with cold blue eyes. "Hello?"

Graydon held out his hand to him excitedly. "Sir, it's an honor to meet you! My name is Graydon Creed."

The Colonel wrinkled face burst into a grin. He grasped Graydon's hand with a firm grip. "Ah yes, Dr. Sophen's patient. It's great to finally meet you son. Walk with me."

Graydon quickly follows him into an elevator. "Colonel Stryker I just want you to know that I am loyal to the cause to—"

Colonel Styker interrupts him. "Graydon, we have plenty of time to talk about this, but I have one question for you. How much are you against using mutants as assassins for other mutants?"

Graydon looked shocked. "Mutants?"

"What better species to use, but the ones we're hunting? Graydon, if you want to catch a mutant you need to use a mutant. Then when your targets are disposed of you can take care of your assassins. It is an old and innovative method we have."

"We, sir?"

"You see Graydon, the Mutant Response Division is not the first group that has dealt with mutants. I was and still am a part of Weapon X—a military branch used to deal with mutant problems by turning our enemies into our greatest weapons." Stryker smiled at Graydon. "Why risk our necks when we can use our POW's to do it for us?"

Graydon hesitantly nods and followed him to a large metal door.

Stryker turned to Graydon. "Now son, I asked you about mutant weapons to make sure you are on our side. Are you willing to go the extra mile to protect your country from the mutant menace?"

"I'm willing to destroy them all to protect the world sir." Graydon Creed swore.

Stryker nods his head at this proudly. "That's what I like to hear. Now, the man inside this room is not a mutant, but he is a powerful juggernaut. Hell it's his mercenary title. He is willing to take down a dangerous mutant adversary for us if we just provide him with the information."

Graydon nods. "So what are we going to do?"

Styker chuckled. "We're going to point him in the right direction." He opened the door. "Mr. Cain Marko—thank you for waiting."

A gruff voice answered. "The only reason I hadn't knocked down your walls is because I respect the uniform—also you said you had some information about my oh so special step-brother?"

Graydon almost tripped over his own feet in shock. A massive man stood before them—he was like the human version of the Hulk. He wore a large, rust-colored helmet that was buckled down to the shoulder braces that made up the armor for his torso. He wore camouflage pants and massive combat boots. For a belt he wore a band of the largest bullets Graydon had ever seen. Only a table separated them from the giant.

"Mr. Cain Marko, you are a hard person to track down." Stryker talked to the Juggernaut casually. "It took us awhile for us to find you. Not even your mercenary team would give you up."

Juggernaut chuckled. "Good. That's how I like it. Black Tom told me you had information. Give it." He taps the table with a finger, which sounded like it was being bashed in with human fists.

Stryker puts the file on the table. "Here is your brother's address and the best direction to take to his establishment. There is also information on each of his X-Men, staff members, and students. Feel free to cause as much damage as possible."

Juggernaut looked through the files and grinned. "You don't even have to ask."

* * *

**Author's notes: Muhahahha! Juggernaut is on his way to the mansion for some revenge!**

**Brother: "Please tell me he's fighting-"**

**"Of course! But Our audience will find out in the next chapter."**

**"Yes!"**

**"So clarification, yes I made Zala Lorna's older sister. And in my version she has two moms. Why? Well my version is set in the 21st century. Also, I wanted to add Ka'zar and Shanna the she-devil...you know why they're in Antarctica. Savageland! I really can't wait to do a story about how they become natives...it's going to be a psychological survival situation."**

**"Emma Frost."**

**"Oh right. I loved writing this character. Seeing that it's Emma Frost, she don't give a shit. She would barge in looking fabulous. And of course she's trying to recruit some Hellions. Yes, Betsy was part of the Hellions and STRIKE. Also, Dani Moonstar cameo, can't wait to bring her into this story!"**

**"John. Why didn't Trinity dump him! Why!?"**

**"Hush with your hatred for Pyro. As you guys guessed, Jamie is multiple man and he is a part of Magneto's team, so that's why John 'ran into him'. AH! I can't wait to write about the next mission Magneto that includes his Acolytes and Mystique."**

**"It's dramatic. Bit of a climax. You'd like it."**

**"Also, yes Hank is experimenting...wild guess what will happen his experiment?"**

**"They should know. They are x-men fans."**

**"Hmm. Oh yes, did a little Phoenix moment with Jean. BTW my version is nothing like "Last Stand", so don't compare!"**

**"Feel free to compare and contrast audience."**

**"If you have any questions, let us know. We don't own Marvel. Oh and all rights reserved to Harry Potter, since we mentioned it. And Shakespeare. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. And rubix cubes...don't know if I spelled that correctly. Grrs. Next time! Juggernaut smack down!" :)**


	22. Chapter 20: Juggernaut

Dominic was lying on his bed lazily with Hernando's dog Extreme. The Great Dane was happily sitting beside the downcast teen.

Sammy looked over at him as he pulled on his hoodie. "Sorry you can't go to Stark Tower, Dom."

Dominic sighed and rubbed Extreme's ears. "Tio Leon did say that he would punish me…never thought he would be this cruel though."

Sammy smirked sheepishly. "He's just trying to make sure you don't go on another mission—"

"By banning me from my favorite celebrity? Tony Stark—play boy genius who created the greatest weapons and security anyone has ever seen. The arc light prince. He is Iron Man! Iron Man, Sammy!"

"I'll be sure to get you a souvenir or a autograph. He might not even be there." Sammy grabs an electric watch from his drawer. "Check this out." He put it on and pushed a button. Sammy's red scales turned into a pale skin and his dorsal fin turned into a black Mohawk. His pupiless eyes turned into normal brown eyes and he suddenly had a nose.

Dominic jumped off his bed and Extreme ran off to find something else to do. " Is that an image inducer?"

"Yeah, Forge made a couple of these. Kurt has one too. How do I look?"

"Like a grungy preteen."

"So better than you?" Sammy teased.

Dominic laughed. "You're lucky you're my friend."

Sammy leaves. "Uh-huh. See you Dom—don't touch my laptop."

Dominic looked out the window and saw everyone was getting into cars. He watched Allie walk into the car with Ororo. Allie turned and looked over at his window. She smiled and gave him a wave. Dominic waved back to her. He watched as Kendra was walking with Piotr. He wondered if there was something going on between them.

Moira and Sean were leaving also; they were taking their dogs to Central Park. Lucky.

He then saw Leon. His uncle looked up at his window and gave him a nod. Dominic responded by closing his blinds.

* * *

Allie got into the backseat with Ororo. Storm asked the girl. "Are you excited, Allie?"

Allie nodded. "Yeah, I really want to meet Iron Man."

Jean and Scott got into the car. Jean started the engine. "Ready to go?"

"Not yet." Ororo answered.

A door to Allie's left opened and a man got in and sat next to her. Allie stared at the man nervously—who was he? He had dark blue eyes, curly black hair, and pale skin. She never saw him before. "Ororo…"

The man smiled at her. "Don't you recognize me häschen?"

Allie blinked in astonishment. "Kurt?!"

He laughed at her expression. "Did I surprise you?"

She elbowed him. "You scared me!"

Kurt showed her a watch on his wrist. "This image inducer projects a hologram that makes me look like you."

Allie tilts her head at this. "I like you better blue." Her brow furrowed. "Where's your tail?"

* * *

Dominic heard the last of the cars drive off and decided to go downstairs. When he was downstairs, he saw Xi'an was about to leave.

Dominic asked. "Miss Coy-Mahn! Where are you going?"

She explained. "I am picking Sam Guthrie up from the airport. Do you want to come along? The taxi is right outside."

Dom sighed. "Yeah…no. I think my tio would be pretty pissed if I did anything remotely liberating or fun."

"You're grounded aren't you?" Xi'an smirked.

"Yep." Dominic shrugged. "I snuck along on a mission."

She winced. "Next time, you should sneak along on a mission that is in the state instead of out of the country—you would get in less trouble."

"Are you giving me advice on sneaking onto missions?" Dominic smiled.

She laughed as she left. "Goodbye Dominic."

He walked around the kitchen and saw Bobby's cat, Cloud, was glaring at him from under the table. He stuck his tongue out at it and Cloud's ginger striped tail swished in annoyance. Dom opened the fridge. His aunt left a note inside:

_**I counted all of the sweets I have and if one is missing then you have laundry duty for a month. Also, if you are hungry have some sardines.**_

Dominic muttered. "Probably Leon's idea of a punishment." He saw there was more on the back:

_**It was your tio's idea to give you the sardines as a snack. I wanted to only give you a jar of jalapenos. They help with the sinuses. ~Love tia Mansi.**_

"Gracias tia." Dominic shut the fridge. The floor shook from the force. Cloud raced passed him hissing in surprise. Dominic winced and made sure he didn't break the fridge. It was fine. He suddenly heard a loud crack. The alarms suddenly went off. He covered his ears as they screeched. The professor's voice suddenly rang inside his head:

_Dominic, get down to the hanger and lock it down!_

Dom wasted no time, and ran toward the stairs and raced down each step. When he made it to the basement he saw Extreme was already there yelping and jumping about. He ran over to Forge's main computer. He typed in all the codes he remembered and got into the security cameras. He also brought up the security weapons status. The weapons were all activated and working hard against something. He made the camera focus on a large mass. The camera cleared and he saw a giant. A giant man…at least ten feet tall was marching through the front yard of the Institute. The laser pellets hitting him did not even slow him down. He wondered why the professor didn't just mentally subdue…the intruder was wearing a helmet…maybe that's blocking him.

He typed in a few more keys, maybe this guy was in their files. There was suddenly a beeping noise. A file popped up:

_**Adversary Files:**_

_**Juggernaut**_

_**Name: Cain Marko**_

_**Height: 10'2''**_

_**Weight: 900 lbs **_

_**Powers: abnormal strength, size, speed, and invulnerability due to alien crystal radiation. Armor is just as invulnerable and made out of unknown metals.**_

_**Threat: Physically dangerous and deadly.**_

_**Weakness: Telepathic means. **_

He felt himself pale when the Juggernaut was running toward them. Cain Marko ran over and through laser guns like they were made of sand.

Dominic sprinted away from the computers after he initiated more laser cannons. He typed in the master security key, which he memorized after seeing Forge use it. The vault opened and he grabbed a large laser cannon. When Forge showed him the armory, Dom was sure to ask which gun would be able to slow him down, and Forge told him:

"Well, your powers are still developing since you're so young, but if I have to choose one, the Stark 2001 laser cannon , which I modified, should be able to be a match for you."

Dominic studied Stark manuals on weapons that Forge let him borrow, and he managed to load the laser pellets and power up the weapon. That was when there was a large crash, the lights flickered, and the building shook. Dominic fell over due to the force and the weight of the heavy gun. The alarms stopped for a moment, but blared again:

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Central wing! Intruder alert!"

Dominic raced over to the computers and typed:

_**Central wing. Second floor. **_

_**Engage indoor security system. Laser intiative. Deadly force. Target. Juggernaut.**_

He then picked up his weapon and sprinted up the stairs—hoping that he would get to the professor in time.

* * *

Xi'an walked around the airport tiredly as she overheard the whines of other passengers being checked and rechecked. She watched for Sam's flight patiently. She suddenly saw a woman with familiar red highlights walking passed. Xi'an instantly recognized Victoria's old hairdo as she walked and typed on her phone gracefully. Xi'an felt her face grow hot as she tried to decide whether to greet her or pretend she didn't see her…would Victoria Hand even remember her?

Before she could think more about this, someone asked. "Xi'an?"

She turned and saw Victoria was standing beside her with a smile on her face. Xi'an probably would have forgotten how beautiful Victoria was, but that couldn't happen even if she tried.

"V-victoria!" Xi'an smiled nervously; she would not act like an excited school girl.

Victoria grinned. "I haven't seen you since the festival in the Burning River canyon. You look amazing."

Xi'an blushed. "Merci, you look beautiful—great. Well, you always do." She blushed even more.

Victoria chuckled. "Thanks, so how have you been? Are you still working with Professor Xavier?"

Xi'an nodded. "Oui, yes."

"How's your family?"

"Oh, they're fine." Xi'an looked down; she did not want to talk about them…she missed them, but her little brother and sister were living with her older brother and uncle in Madripoor. She missed them. "How are you and Isabelle?"

Victoria frowned and adjusted her glasses. "We broke up."

Xi'an apologized. "I'm so sorry!"

She smirked wryly. "Not your fault, how's your love life?"

Xi'an's smile faltered. "Uh…great, Forge and I are really…happy."

Victoria raised a brow. "Forge…is a man?"

Xi'an shrugged, but answered. "Yes."

"So you're…?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh."

Xi'an raised her shoulders defensively. "My parents always wanted me to find a husband."

"But what if you want a wife?" Victoria asked gently.

Xi'an crossed her arms. "Where I come from…it just isn't…I don't know."

Victorian touched her elbow. "Hey, it's okay, you don't have to explain anything to anyone. Just make sure you're dating who you want to date, and be happy. And if anyone gives you any shit, just call me." She gives her her number.

Xi'an took her card. "I don't remember you being so consoling."

Victoria laughed. "Yeah, I'm not. Just with you Xi'an." She saw someone behind Karma. "There's Coulson. Take care of yourself Xi'an." She left.

Xi'an watched her go. "You too…" She held her number tightly as her heart rate finally began to slow.

* * *

Dominic made it to the doorway of the professor's office when he saw the Juggernaut standing in front of a massive hole in the wall with his arms crossed. So much for the lasers.

The professor was on the other side of the room, and Darwin was in front of him growling at the intruder. Xavier didn't move as he glowered at him. "Cain."

"Hey brother, it's been a while." Juggernaut's voice boomed.

He didn't notice Dominic, so the boy began setting up his shot.

Xavier did not sense him either, since Dominic swiped Forge's experimental telepath deflector—a metal ring that goes around your forehead and block telepathy—Dom knew the professor would take control of his mind and send him away to keep him safe.

"Cain, you don't have to do this." Xavier calmly told him.

"Still telling people what to do? Trying to get inside my head—you always been a little cheat with your powers. Too bad that crap doesn't work on me." Juggernaut was about to take a step toward him, but Dominic pulled the trigger a large laser zapped out and smashed into Juggernaut's chest. Juggernaut grunted in surprise and fell backwards, through the hole, and back outside. Dominic ran over to Xavier as he heard the huge crash of Juggernaut hitting the ground outside.

Xavier's eyes widened. "Dominic! Why aren't you in the hanger!"

Dominic slung the gun onto his back. "Sorry Prof, but I have to get you out."

There was another crash and Juggernaut smashed through another wall a few feet from his other entrance.

Dominic took the gun and made another shot, which smacked into the giant's shoulder. He then picked up the Professor; he had trouble picking him up as Xavier was telling him to leave. Dominic held onto him and leapt out the hole in the wall as Juggernaut tried to get them. As the ground raced toward them, Dom looped his other arm under Xavier's legs and held on. As soon as he felt the ground he let loose a sonic blast. They flew through the air and Xavier had no choice but to hold on. Dominic heard a crash behind him as the Juggernaut chased them, and Darwin was barking wildly from what was left of Xavier's office.

He shot another sonic blast every time he hit the ground as he made his way to the forest—there was a safe house there. He tried holding onto the Professor, but he was heavy.

When he was behind some trees, he made another sonic leap, which was when he heard the cracking of trees being knocked down. When he was about to jump again, a giant hand grabbed onto the laser cannon on his back. Xavier lashed out a hand at the Juggernaut. "Cain! Don't!"

Dominic was wrenched back as the professor fell from his arms. Xavier tumbled to the ground; head smashing into the dirt. Dominic was thrown to the ground. He got onto his elbows and saw smashed bits of the laser cannon around him, and the professor laying on the ground unconscious.

The Juggernaut walked toward his stepbrother slowly as he chuckled. "This is too easy."

Dominic got up and ran toward him and a sonic blast erupted from his feet. He smashed into the Juggernaut and knocked him over.

Cain jumped up. "What the f***?" He saw Dominic scramble to his feet and lift his fists up. The man laughed at the boy. "Oh it's you." He waved his hand, smacking Dominic to the ground and out of his way with ease.

Dominic got back up and with a yell and shot a sonic blast from his hands. "Get back!"

The sonic boom knocked Cain back. The man sneered. "Boy, unless you have a death wish—"

Dominic screamed as he punched and kicked at the Juggernaut, like he practiced in the Danger Room. Cain kicked him back. Dominic tumbled through the grass until a tree stopped his roll. He got up while panting and holding his aching stomach that actually hurt.

The Juggernaut scowled. "Now f*** off boy, I don't have time for you."

Dominic ran at him with another sonic boom and tackled him.

Juggernaut was knocked back to the ground and he grabbed Dom's arm and threw him like he was just a rag doll. Dom smashed into a tree, branches snapping like twigs. He got up; unharmed. He prayed that the X-Men got his distress call.

Juggernaut laughed. "You're tougher than you look, alright boy, if you want a fight—let's go." He back handed Dominic—hard.

Dominic felt the pain from the hit and held onto the tree to keep from falling over, and he was suddenly kicked. He was sent flying and smacked into another tree, which splintered. He coughed out a whimper as the pain from the hits took its toll…apparently he was just as vulnerable as a normal human against the Juggernaut. In other words, super strength and invulnerability can hurt Dom.

He saw the Juggernaut was about to punch him and dodged. The Juggernaut's fist split the tree in half. Dominic took his chance and punch him, sonic energy surrounding his fist. The punch actually made Juggernaut shout in pain, and he tried to flatten Dominic. Dom kept dodging as he made sure every kick and punch exploded with a sonic blast. Juggernaut's fist finally hit his face, and the force sent him to the ground.

Dom black out at first, but it cleared as the forest spun. His face throbbed with so much pain as some tears escaped his eyes and nose…wait…nose?

A warm liquid was trailing from his nose. Dom's fingers shakily touched the warm liquid and he saw it was blood. He was bleeding; he was actually bleeding. When was the last time he bled? This was bad.

He got up as he watched Cain make his way toward him. Dominic shook as he made his palms face each other. He slowly formed the sonic ball of energy, which made the Juggernaut stop and mutter. "What the hell—"

Dominic threw the ball of energy at him. The blast cracked and splintered the trees around them and it sent the Juggernaut flying back.

Dominic sprinted over to the Professor and picked him back up—he was still unconscious. He leapt through the trees as he tried to keep the branches from scratching Xavier's face. He finally stopped and stumbled—he was so tired. He suddenly saw the small cell tower and security boxes, which Juggernaut smashed and tore apart…that was why the X-Men weren't here yet. He laid Xavier behind some bushes to hide him as he checked the box's telephone—it sputtered. Dom grabbed a long wire and attached it to the phone to make his own signal. His mind was spinning as he tried to decide who to call…Logan. Before he realized it, he typed in Logan's number. It finally started ringing.

* * *

Logan was still in Salem Center, hesitating and waiting for the Professor to call him for a mission, but none came and he was finally going to leave New York. As soon as he got on his bike, his cell suddenly rang and he saw it was Xavier's. He sighed and answered. "What?"

"Logan!" Dom's voice sputtered around the static.

"Nic?" Logan felt the hair rise on the back of his neck when he heard the panic in the kid's voice.

"Juggernaut! He's here! He's at the Institute—Logan help—AHHH—NO!" Dom's voice screamed.

"Nic!" Logan heard a crash as Dominic cried, and he heard that familiar laugh. Logan started the bike and headed back toward the Institute.

* * *

Dom was pulled back and the Juggernaut lifted him by his arm to face him. Dom kicked him, and the Juggernaut's hand surrounded his head instead. Dom was suddenly slammed into the ground and he cried when the Juggernaut let him go and brought his boot down to smash him into the ground repeatedly. Dom gasped as the ground cracked beneath him and he sunk into the dirt. Dom lost count of the blows as he was pegged into the ground; each blow knocking the air out of his lungs.

After a few minutes, Cain Marko stopped. "You done?"

Dom shook his head tried to get up, but fell back as he held his aching stomach and saw through the tears in his shirt that he was covered in purple bruises.

Cain smirked. "Yeah you are." His boot slowly hovered by his head.

Dom lifted up a hand, palm facing the Juggernaut in an attempt for one more blast.

They suddenly heard the roar of a motorcycle. Cain turned around and listened. Dom smirked; split lip stinging. "Now you're in trouble…"

Cain turned back around and pressed his boot against Dom's chest; ready to crush it. "You think I'm scared of the X-Men? I'm the Juggernaut! You little—"

The motorcycle was suddenly echoing through the forest, and it stopped. Cain looked around, boot still holding Dom down.

There was silence, the birds and animals had left long ago, and they were alone. Cain peered around as he clenched his fists.

Juggernaut snorted and was about to return his attention back to Dom, when the Wolverine leapt through the branches above them with a roar. Claws out, he leapt onto the Juggernaut's back and slashed at his braces and skin with a fury.

Cain's boot lifted off of Dom as he fought with Logan. The Wolverine dodged each hit as his claws scratched the Juggernaut's skin.

Dominic watched in amazement, but felt his heart stop when the Juggernaut struck Logan, literally slitting his face in half. Dom stumbled to his feet as he yelled. "Logan!"

Wolverine was on the ground, panting as he bled and his skin tried to heal back together over the adamantium skull.

Dom shot a blast at Cain's back and the Juggernaut stumbled from the hit and shouted. "That's it! You're dead!" He turned and marched toward him—each step imprinting into the ground. Wolverine leapt onto his back and clawed at him while gargling. "MOVE NIC!" Cain threw Logan off him as he made his way toward Dominic.

Before Dom could do anything. Lighting struck the Juggernaut. Cain shouted from the shock.

Dom looked up and saw Ororo flying at Cain while sending dangerous amounts of lightning toward him with a furious battle cry. The boy fell back in relief. He was suddenly lifted up and dragged through the trees by an invisible force. When he stopped, he saw he was surrounded by Scott, Jean, and Leon. Scott was holding the unconscious Professor.

Dom sputtered up at Leon. "Hey tio…"

Leon knelt beside him and stared at his nephew in horror. "Shit Dom, did you actually—"

"Yeah…turns out I'm not invulnerable against super strength…figures." He croaked jokingly. He turned when he heard blasts and saw Forge was running around the Juggernaut and firing laser blasts at him from his arm cannon, while Storm sent bolts and Kurt teleported around distracting the giant. Dom gawked as Forge shot at the Juggernaut like a pro.

Cyclops handed the Professor to Leon. "Get them out of here, we need to get that helmet off."

Dom jumped to his feet. "No way—he'll crush you guys!"

Scott placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about us, you did well Dom, but you need to go to the others."

Dom relented and followed his uncle through the forest and into the Institute. Dominic saw Sean, Moira, Hank, Mansi, and Betsy were with the students. Kendra gasped as she held onto Dom. "Dominic! What happened!"

Mansi handed Fleur to Hank and she and Kenneth gawked at him and asked him dozen of questions. Leon handed the Professor to Sean and he and Moira ran downstairs to the clinic. Dom saw Trinity was asleep on the couch. "What happened?"

Betsy frowned. "She tried to go after the Juggernaut when she felt you were in pain—I had to knock her out. She's alright."

Dom looked around the room as everyone surrounded him. He noticed Allie was missing. "Where's Allie?"

Everyone looked around. Dom ran toward the window and cursed as Allie ran into the forest with a pink field surrounding her. Before anyone could stop him and leapt through the window—shattering it and ran toward the forest. He made some leaps to go faster as he shouted. "ALLIE!"

He crashed through the branches when he heard her screaming and others shouting.

Dom ran toward them and saw Allie had a field around herself and the Juggernaut was kicking at it as the X-Men tried to get him away from her. Cyclops finally managed to shoot a massive beam, which knocked Cain away from her. Allie let the field collapse as she leaned against her knees in exhaustion.

Dom ran over to her and she squealed. "Dom!"

He picked her up and ran as the Juggernaut got back to his feet. Allie held onto her brother and screamed. "Crap! He's right behind us!"

Dom ran faster as he held onto her and jumped; creating the largest blast he could. They soared into the air and he turned in midair to see the Juggernaut leapt up and was reaching for him. Allie screamed as she wrapped her arms around her brother's neck. Dominic lifted his hands and shot a blast into Cain's face. The giant yelled as a part of the brace broke and he was sent back to the ground. Dominic and Allie soared through the air even higher as the air became thinner.

Then they started falling too, and he shouted. "Allie! Create a field!"

A field flickered around them, and she whimpered as it kept going out. "I can't—"

There was a burst of sulfurous smoke as Kurt appeared above them. Dom shoved Allie into his arms. "Go! Go!" Kurt caught her and teleported away.

Dom finally hit the ground. He sighed in relief as he laid there to catch his breath.

The ground shook and he sat up to see Logan slicing at the Juggernaut's braces—breaking them. Cyclops shot another beam— almost knocking the helmet off. Cain held his helmet onto his head though.

There was a loud whistling in the air and something exploded against Marko's head—knocking the helmet clean off. As soon as it was off, Jean and Betsy focused on him.

Cain held his head and screamed. Dom ran over and grabbed the helmet. The Juggernaut saw and slowly marched toward him, but soon fell to his knees and crawled toward him.

Dom lifted out his hand. "You're done here." He told him as he blasted him in the face. The Juggernaut fell back as the telepathic onslaught continued, until he passed out.

Dom fell to his knees and leaned against the massive helmet.

Kurt teleported over to him with Allie, who hugged her older brother tightly. Everyone else, except the Professor and Moira surrounded him, but someone pushed through the crowd.

Logan stood in front of Dominic and stared at him and Allie for a moment, he then barked at everyone else. "Back off!" He was happy to see him and he tried not to laugh when Allie tackled his legs in a hug.

Everyone, except the Lafayettes and Hank backed off. Dom looked around for Mansi and saw she was handing Forge a large bazooka as she massaged her shoulder. He gaped at her…she was the one who knocked Cain's helmet off—Mansi, his tia that made dresses and cookies. His aunt who was a homemaker and hardcore cook shot a bazooka at the Juggernaut. She caught his eye and rushed over to him. "You okay?"

Dom nodded; speechless. She smiled in relief, but then tapped the back of his head angrily. "Don't ever run back into a fight when you're told to stay put! Comprende?"

"Comprendo." Dom smirked sheepishly. He peered at Forge who had a scratch on his cheek, but faired pretty well in the fight against Juggernaut. Looks like the Institute and its members could still surprise him.

* * *

Xi'an smiled when she saw Sam Guthrie walk over to her. She held out her hand. "Hello Sam, I'm Miss Coy Mahn, welcome to New York."

Sam shook her hand. "Thank you ma'am. Glad to be here."

She led him outside and tried to hail a cab as she explained the basic rules of the Institute and what to expect.

Sam listened, but jumped when a alarm across the street went off. Xi'an watched as Brotherhood members (Phantazma, Toad, Quicksilver, and Telegirl) raced out with stolen goods. She grabbed onto Sam's arm. "We need to go."

Quicksilver saw them and recognized Xi'an, he raced over and grabbed her, while throwing her against the wall. Xi'an screamed as she shoved against him.

Quicksilver scoffed. "Well, if it isn't the weakest member of the X-Men, my father believes you're one of the most powerful, but he must be wrong. He also told me not to attack you because it's dishonorable, but I think he'd look the other way just this once."

Xi'an hated this—this was too familiar, just like when the Madripoor pirate tried to—no! This was not that moment, she had to focus and stay in control. "Pietro," She commanded. "Let me go."

He snorted. "Really? Why don't you make me?"

Xi'an felt helpless as she struggled.

Sam was suddenly there and tried to bash Quicksilver with his suitcase. Pietro dodged it and grabbed Sam, throwing him into a different alley. He raced back to Xi'an and pinned her against the wall again. "Well, if you are that powerful, I should probably take you out while I still can."

Xi'an glowered at him. "Where did you put him?"

"I just threw him out of the way. Now, where was I?" He lifted a fist.

She felt her panic grow, but focused on him. "Pietro."

Pietro choked when he felt a shock seize his brain. Xi'an could now see through his eyes and she made him let her go and race away. It was so easy to send him to his comrades and command them to go back to their base. She smirked at the ease and power she had over him…oh how she missed this.

* * *

Sam got up and looked around, he heard a girl shriek around the corner. He ran toward the noise—believing it was Miss Coy Mahn. Instead he saw one of the robbers—a mutant girl with light blue skin knock out a police officer by giving him a round house kick. She brushed the red hair out of her golden eyes as he fell. Sam stood there and gazed at her in amazement—wow.

She suddenly noticed him and raised her fists defensively. She relaxed when she saw he wasn't going to attack her. She asked. "Are you a mutant too?"

"Uh…yeah, how did you know?" Sam asked nervously.

"Well you didn't try to kill me, scream, or run away." She smiled at him.

He smirked at her bashfully. "Why would I scream?"

"The monstrous blue skin?" She chuckled darkly as she picked up her bag of stolen goods.

"Naw." Sam shook his head.

"So you think I don't look like a monster?" She asked flirtatiously.

Sam nodded.

There was a shout of: "Telegirl!"

She smirked. "That's my cue." She ran off, and Sam stood rooted to the spot.

* * *

Karma made the Brotherhood go back to their base, and she reluctantly let go of Pietro's mind. She gasped and held herself together. She hated controlling others, and could only do it when she felt threatened or scared. The longer she controlled someone, she started to think more like them…and controlling someone was unsettling…too much power.

Sam jogged up to her. "Miss Coy Mahn! Are you okay?"

She gave him a small smile. "Yes, thank you Sam. We should get going." They finally hailed a cab and were off to the Institute.

Dom tried to stay still as Moira swabbed his lip. He hissed as it stung. Moira scoffed. "You're lucky that he only busted your lip, and that your nose isn't broken."

He chuckled. "I guess I was just born lucky."

"Just like the rest of your family." Betsy laughed with him as she ruffled his hair. Moira smirked, but went back to check on the Professor.

The Professor was sitting up and spoke up. "Dominic."

Dom turned to him sheepishly. "Yes sir?"

"Next time, I want you to follow my orders when I or the staff gives them." He then took a sip from the cup Moira gave him, but finished. "If not how would you ever become and X-Man."

Dom grinned and gave a salute. "Sir, yes sir."

They suddenly heard Trinity's voice yelling. "I'm not going to frickin' sit down! I need to see Dom!" She burst into the room.

Moira muttered to Betsy. "Be ready for a tantrum,"

Trinity burst into the room and ran over to Dom. Her face fell as she gazed at him. "Dominic…what the hell happened to you."

"I fought the Juggernaut…and won." He smirked at his sister. "How was Stark tower?"

Trinity suddenly glared at Betsy. "You."

Betsy flipped her purple hair back.

Trinity marched up to her; eyes turning black. "Don't you ever—ever telepathically send me into unconsciousness again!"

Betsy grinned at her. "Sorry love, I had to keep you from trying to pick a fight with the Juggernaut."

"I don't care if I was facing Thor! Don't you or anyone else stand between me in my brother and sisters!" Trinity glowered at her. "Their safety is priority. _Their_ safety!"

Dom sighed. "Calm down, Trin."

She spun around angrily. "Don't say a single word." She faced him as she hissed. "And stop putting yourself in danger."

He held her black stare, but doesn't say anything. She snorted in frustration. "You're just like dad. Come on, Leon wanted to talk to us outside."

Dom raised a brow, but followed.

They make it outside and saw Scott, Logan, Jean, and Ororo guarding the Juggernaut's unconscious body. There was also a large black armored truck and a dozen men in navy blue uniforms and black helmets. Dom had to blink twice when he saw Allie talking to uncle Nick.

He and Trinity raced over to him. "Uncle Nick!"

Dom asked. "Hey uncle Nick, what are you doing here?" He stopped when he heard a loud roar of jet engines and he saw the Iron man land in front of them.

Dom's jaw dropped.

The helmet lifted up to reveal the face of Tony Stark.

Dominic motioned him to Trinity, as if to make sure he was really there, but she was too busy staring at the Juggernaut with wide eyes.

Tony took a look at the Juggernaut. "So this is the juggernaut that we're transporting to the Cube, Fury?"

"We've been waiting on you Stark." Nick told him, and the men gathered around the Juggernaut and began his transport into the truck.

Trinity was busy staring at one of the men who was arguing with Wolverine. She walked over slowly. Dominic ignored her and held out his hand to Tony Stark. "H-hey, I'm Dominic Leonardo…"

Tony raised his brows and gave him a nod. "Hey." He also noticed Allie. "Are these your kids, Fury?"

Uncle Nick rolled his eye, since the other had an eye patch over it. "No, they're Leonardo's kids."

"Sal Leonardo?" Tony looked over at the man Trinity was walking toward. "He has children? Wait, he has a wife?"

Dom turned and noticed Trinity was staring at the man. They couldn't really see him because he wore a helmet, but that didn't stop Trinity…maybe she wanted to talk to Logan—

"Daddy?" Trinity asked the man.

Dom narrowed his eyes. No. No way.

The man turned toward her and finally took off his helmet; revealing Salvatore Leonardo.

Sal sighed. "Hey…we need to talk."

Logan glared at Sal for a moment before storming off so he could talk to his children.

Salvatore explained everything to them as the Juggernaut was loaded into the truck. He gazed at his children tiredly. "I do work for the government... I'm a agent for the government—a secret branch known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division: SHIELD. Your Uncle Nick recruited me before your mom and I married; he's my director."

Trinity was staring down at her feet as she kicked at the grass. Allie was staring at her father then uncle Nick—trying to make sense of how Uncle Nick was the director of SHIELD and her father's boss. Dominic stared at his father and processed everything…well, now he knows what his dad did for a living…subtle.

Salvatore cleared his throat. "What I do is top secret…I deal with problems not just nationally, but on an international and universal level."

"Whoa, like aliens?" Allie asked excitedly.

Sal smiled at her. "Yeah, like international super-terrorists, unfriendly aliens, and mystical abominations.—"

"Mutants?" Trinity asked.

Sal peered at her. "It depends…mutants aren't our priority."

"Apparently." She mumbled.

Salvatore gazed at his daughter. "Trinitia, if you have something to say you should say it."

Trinity nodded. "Yeah, let's start with—why are you telling us all of this now? Why not when I almost died without knowing what my dad did—or the second time I was almost killed?"

"Now wait a minute—" Sal started, but Trinity snapped:

"No! I'm sick of these secrets. Why don't you tell me why you and your agency hasn't done a thing to help or protect mutants. Tell me why the MRD isn't shut down by SHIELD—since they are meant to protect humanity!"

"Because the X-Men have handling it." Nick spoke up behind them. Trinity fell silent as she glared at him darkly.

Nick Fury explained. "You see, Xavier is more than just a Professor—he has multiple liaisons with different agencies; including ours. We made a deal a while back—he can take care of his problems, and we'll take care of our own."

Trinity bit her lip and turned back to her father. "So, you're a secret agent."

Salvatore nodded. "I couldn't tell you before. Trinity, my job is based on secrecy. Most of society has never even heard of SHIELD—and we would like to keep it that way."

Trinity stared at him. "Don't worry, I'm starting to get pretty good at keeping secrets. My parents taught me how." Her eyes watered and blackened. "You're not even going to stay are you?"

Sal shook his head. "I can't."

She whispered. "Well, bye dad." She quickly rushed off toward the Institute.

Sal watched her go. He then embraced Allie and Dom. "I love you kids—I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

Allie grinned. "Don't worry—I think it's cool you're a secret agent."

Sal smiled, but then turned to Dom. "What about you?"

Dom shrugged; not sure how to react. "I just faced the Juggernaut and found out my dad is a SHIELD agent…it's been a long day."

* * *

Trinity rushed inside and into the library—which was empty. She held her chest as she panted—she felt like she was having a heart attack—she just couldn't stop thinking about Dom being pummeled by that monster outside—or Allie almost being crushed by it—or that her dad was risking his life everyday…he was a secret agent!

She peered at a glass case, which reflected her black eyes. She shrieked and covered her face as she took deep breaths. "Control yourself…" She whispered to herself. "Calm down…he's not dead…Allie is safe…dad is…" Her lip trembled. "Leaving…like he always done…so…you shouldn't even be crying about this…" She tried convincing herself, but she ended up crying anyway. She eased herself into a chair and rocked back and forth as she tried to block out everyone else's emotions and keep in her own. "Control yourself…" She muttered over and over—not even realizing uncle Hank was standing in the doorway watching her. He stared at her for a moment, but quickly left—he was going to finish his experiment tonight.

* * *

Xi'an explained everything to Sam about the Brotherhood and why they attacked. He fortunately took it pretty well, but kept asking about Telegirl.

When the taxi stopped in front of the mansion they got out. She also told him about the ground rules of Xavier's and finished with: "Don't worry about being here, Sam. The Xavier Institute is a safe environment." She stopped when she saw the broken trees in the distance.

She quickly went inside and let the dogs sniff and attack Sam in licks. When she saw Mansi, she asked. "Hey, what happened to the trees?"

Mansi picked up Fleur before she wandered out the door. "I'll tell you about it later." Sam was now petting Moira's golden retriever, and Mansi smiled at him. "Hey Sam, I'm Mrs. Lafayette—I'm the cook and cleaning lady at Xavier's. What do you want for dinner tonight?"

Sam smiled. "Uh…I do have a hankering for some buffalo wings."

Mansi grinned. "You are too adorable. I'll start dinner, it should be ready in a couple hours." She called over her shoulder. "Ray!"

Ray slid down the banister on the stairs.

Mansi scoffed. "Show off. Show Sam to his room please, I'm making buffalo wings."

Ray nodded. "Sure." He grabbed Sam's bag and flung it over his shoulder. "Come on, you're my new roommate."

Sam followed him. "Uh thanks, I can—uh, carry that—"

Xi'an smiled at Ray. "There isn't a moment when he isn't smiling. I'm glad you brought Ray here."

"Yeah, Leon is too. He's always training him. He brags about him to me." Mansi smiled as she put Fleur down in the living room with Kendra and Piotr. "Can you watch Fleur?"

"Yes tia." Kendra answered as she sketched Piotr and Sean's collie.

Fleur ran over and sat on Piotr's lap. Piotr picked her up and placed her on his shoulders instead.

Xi'an went upstairs and into her office, but stopped when she saw the door was open and Darwin was sitting in one of the waiting chairs beside her desk. She peered into the office and gasped at the two holes in the wall. She saw through one of the massive holes that Forge was walking back toward the Institute. She bit her lip and rushed downstairs. When Forge saw her he grinned. "Hey, how was the pick up?" He started working on his prosthetic arm. "I was just fixing the security systems and the cell tower…again."

"Fine…what happened here?"

"Uh, Juggernaut attacked. SHIELD picked him up. The Leonardos found out their dad is a agent. Dom faced the Juggernaut and lived. And Hank just left in a hurry. Oh yeah, Tony dropped by."

Xi'an blinked. "Wow, a lot has happened."

Forge chuckled. "That's the Institute for you. What about you?"

Xi'an stared at him sadly…why couldn't she love him? He was her best friend…the sweetest and smartest man she knew…why couldn't she love him or feel excited around him?

She shrugged. "N-not much…I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight."

"Want me to join you?" He smirked.

She gave him a half-smile. "Mmm…no, I have a bit of a stomach ache." She quickly raced to her room as she tried to ignore the feelings of guilt, frustration, and confusion. She saw her cat Opal was peering up at her, so she picked her up and buried her face into her fur for comfort.

* * *

It was late at night and Moira was busy looking through Hank's findings as Sean strolled over. "What is it Moira?"

She frowned. "These findings seem to point in the right direction…but I'm just going to test it on a sample of mutant blood…hmm, let's make it Scott's." She gets her dropper and a slide as she applied a drop of blood and the serum together. She then placed it under the microscope and watched. "Hmph, the X-Gene seems to be reduced…I guess it does work…maybe a few more minutes to see what else happens…just to be sure."

* * *

**Author: "Phew. This chapter had another story with it about Beast, but I decided to just post this one so I can finish the other ones. I didn't want to make you all wait."**

**"Seeing that's all she's been doing." Brother joked.**

**"Ugh! Work just sucks creativity out!"**

**"Stop complaining about your job, wimp."**

**"Okay! So I just found out that Xi'an in the comics is a lesbian. This is huge news to me! I didn't know! So since I am trying to stay true to the comics-"**

**"Despite the fact this is alternate reality."**

**"Shut up. I want to remain true to the characters. So, as you can see Xi'an is still in the closet, but her feelings for Victoria Hand have been renewed!"**

**"Weak!" Brother booed. "Xi'an's love life shouldn't be rushed!"**

**"SHUT UP! I like Victoria and Karma together. We also have a glimpse at her family and powers."**

**"Also another example of Pietro being a idiotic jerk."**

**"Stop hating! And Sam meets Telegirl, who he finds fascinating."**

**"I see another ship coming this way." (Two ships in one story. A new record)**

**"Aye. Please don't sink my ship!"**

**"Juggernaut was cool. And why did Dom get beat up?!"**

**"Because he was facing the Juggernaut stupid. He's lucky he isn't dead."**

**"And that Wolverine was nearby."**

**"Of course. Also, Mansi knows how to use weapons. How? She's Leon's wife. 'Nuff said."**

**"Yay! Beast is going to become the Beast! If you ever finish your chapter."**

**"I will! I will! Reviews:**

**Nyx811: Sorry for updating too late.**

**Esmeralda Sable: Thank you for this review. It made me so happy! And I am practicing!"**

**"And I'm trying to help her when I feel like it."**

**"You suck brother. But you are still my best friend!"**

**"Wait...I'm your best friend?"**

**"Yep!"**

**"Wow...that's kinda sad."**

**(angry face)**

**"I'm joking! You're my friend too."**

**"Your best friend?"**

**"We don't own Marvel. Please review. Criticisms are welcome. Thank you."**

**"Why didn't you answer the question? No, don't end the author's notes!"**

**Fin.**


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